Lord Voldemort presented himself as an all-powerful wizard in the Harry Potter universe. He took command of the wizarding world before meeting his downfall against a one-year-old Harry Potter. Still, he returned to power and again instilled fear in witches and wizards, until being defeated by Harry Potter a second time.
But were Lord Voldemort's dueling powers all that great? While no one questions the lengths he went to in his goals push magic in a darker direction, he's only seen dueling in two books of the Harry Potter series, essentially losing in both. While Dumbledore and Harry Potter make sense, it appears they aren't the only wizards who could out-duel Voldemort.
10 Filius Flitwick
Just looking at Flitwick, one wouldn't think that he would be able to hold his own against the Dark Lord. Yet, the books have shown Flitwick is a wizard (pun intended) at dueling. In Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Hermione even alludes to the fact that he was once a dueling champion for the school.
In the books, Flitwick defeated the Death Eater Antonin Dolohov in a duel. Supplemental content has identified Dolohov as the best dueler among the Death Eaters, proving Flitwick is quite skilled with a wand.
9 Bellatrix Lestrange
While the woman who fancies herself Voldemort's most loyal servant would never try to duel her master, the evidence in the books suggests that she would be able to hold her own. She kills several people throughout the series, including Sirius Black, and was seen dueling three people at once in the Battle of Hogwarts.
She has a devotion to her cause that makes her almost impossible to beat. The only reason she loses is she ends up battling someone more dedicated to her own cause: Molly Weasley. It took a mother who had already lost a child and was responding to Bellatrix's efforts to kill another of her children to beat Bellatrix.
8 Antonin Dolohov
As mentioned previously, Dolohov is touted as the best dueler among the Death Eaters. There's no guarantee a Death Eater's life will be very long, but due to his skill and cunning, Dolohov is able to survive longer than most and become incredibly decorated.
In the series, he's shown casting nonverbal spells in duels and defeats both Remus Lupin and Mad-Eye Moody, two skilled wizards in their own rights. Much like Flitwick, Dolohov has shown to be more skilled than Lord Voldemort when it comes to duels.
7 Kingsley Shacklebolt
One of the greatest aurors in the Harry Potter series, Kingsley Shacklebolt faces Lord Voldemort multiple times. He and Voldemort are almost in a stalemate during the Battle of Hogwarts before Voldemort breaks off to battle Harry instead.
In the books, Kingsley duels and defeats several Death Eaters while battling several others. He is seen battling both Bellatrix Lestrange, a gifted dueler in her own right, and Augustus Rookwood.
6 Severus Snape
While Severus Snape is known as a brilliant potion maker throughout the series, he demonstrates his skills in duels multiple times in the final two books. He is a skilled legilimens and occlumens, which allows him to penetrate his opponent's mind. In this way, he can see what's coming while also shielding his own mind. Snape also created his own spells that others wouldn't now how to use in battle.
In the films, Snape redirects curses thrown at him to take out Death Eaters, who believed he was on their side, and also purposely didn't push too hard in his fight with McGonagall. She won, but he knew enough not to push either of them to a kill or be killed situation.
5 Minerva McGonagall
While Minerva McGonagall avoids fighting throughout most of the series, she is one of the best when she busts out her wand. She defeats Alecto Carrow during the Battle of the Astronomy Tower in Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. And McGonagall outflanks Severus Snape enough that he flees out a castle window.
McGonagall also survives the Battle of Hogwarts, including a duel against Voldemort alongside Kingsley Shacklebolt and Horace Slughorn. The only time McGonagall loses is when she takes multiple stunning spells at once in the fifth book, and she still survives and returns for more battles.
4 Mad-Eye Moody
Alastar Moody is an example of someone who was as tough and gruff as he looked. By the time he is introduced to readers, he wears the scars of the First Wizarding War with a magical eye, a missing leg, and numerous other injuries. Still, he is a respected retired auror who filled half the cells in Azkaban.
Voldemort does kill Moody, but it's not in a proper duel. Rather, Moody's death occurs in a situation where Voldemort clearly has the advantage. Voldemort is chasing the "seven Potters" when Mundungus Fletcher, using polyjuice potion, disapparates, leaving Moody to be hit by Voldemort's killing curse. It's unlikely Voldemort would get the better of Moody in a fair fight.
3 Gellert Grindelwald
Grindelwald would most likely defeat Voldemort in a proper duel. Grindelwald was recognized as the darkest wizard of all time prior to Voldemort and, looking at his list of dark deeds, he appears to be more powerful, just not as evil as Voldemort.
Grindelwald took over during the first half of the 20th century, and was only defeated when his former friend Albus Dumbledore out-dueled him. It says a lot about Grindelwald's prowess that it took the man viewed as the Greatest Wizard Ever to defeat him.
2 Albus Dumbledore
This is one of the few wizards that readers actually see face Voldemort in duel. Albus Dumbledore essentially defeats the Dark Lord in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix. Dumbledore was a master with a wand. His chocolate frog card even includes his legendary victory in a duel with Grindelwald on his list of accomplishments.
Dumbledore's skills were so adept, it is specifically stated in the books that Dumbledore is the only wizard Voldemort ever feared. In their one known battle, it appeared Voldemort was doing everything he could to get away from Dumbledore rather than try to defeat him.
1 The Hogwarts Founders
How would Voldemort fare against two wizards and two witches so powerful they created a school to teach magic to younger witches and wizards? While not much is revealed about the four of them over the course of the series, it's impossible to think these four couldn't hold their own in a duel against anyone.
They created a hidden castle to teach children. They bewitched a simple hat with the ability to recognize important traits in 11-year-olds and sort them into houses. And one even created a secret chamber with a basilisk in it. While none are shown dueling, it's a slam dunk they are skilled enough to beat Voldemort.