Sylas Mid vs Malphite Top Matchup

Sylas Mid wins 51.2% of 5,091 Low Elo games against Malphite Top, +3.4 points vs expected, 2-patch window 26.19-26.20.

Researched on LoL patch 26.20. Tips are written to hold at any rank; stats come from Low Elo ranked games up to patch 26.20.

Why Sylas is favored

Malphite's common tank core stacks armor, while Sylas's main spell damage is magic. Hijack(R) also lets Sylas reuse Unstoppable Force(R), turning Malphite's teamfight engage into a second area knockup against his team.

Measured in High Elo: Sylas wins 3.6pp more often than expected over 2,123 games.

How to play as Sylas

Keep Hijack(R) ready for the fight: once Malphite starts with Unstoppable Force(R), copy it and threaten a second engage while his team is grouped.

Hijack(R) lets Sylas steal Malphite's Unstoppable Force(R), giving him another area knockup to start a fight against Malphite's team.

Malphite's common Sunfire Aegis, Thornmail, and Frozen Heart core stacks armor, while Sylas deals magic damage with Chain Lash(Q), Kingslayer(W), and Abscond / Abduct(E).

How to play as Malphite

Treat Sylas with Hijack(R) as a second initiator; warn your team to spread out so he cannot land your Unstoppable Force(R) on several targets.

Sources

These notes come from r/malphitemains, checked against the champions' abilities.