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- Image of LTA North League of Legends, courtesy of Riot Games.

TL;DW – LTA North Edition: C9 Crushes DIG

Originally posted on Total Apex Gaming | By JB Dennis | Last updated Aug 4, 2025 9:27 AM ET

Week 2, Day 4 of the LTA North Split 3. DIG vs C9. DIG’s roster is Photon (top), Sheiden (jungle), Keine (mid), Tomo (bot), and Isles (support). C9’s roster is Thanatos (top), Blaber (jungle), Loki (mid), Zven (bot), and Vulcan (support). For more information on what Early, Mid, and Late Game means, see Terms at the bottom of the article.

Game 1: C9 Bullies DIG

The 1^st set of bans takes out Wukong, Varus, Azir, Pantheon, Poppy, and Taliyah from the equation. The 2^nd set removes Bard, Alistar, Karma, and Ka’Sai. DIG’s comp is very safe with lot of peel. They go for Gwen (Top), Xin Zhao (Jungle), Ryze (Mid), Xayah (Bot), and Rakan (Support). C9 is all aggression with their picks of Ambessa (Top), Vi (Jungle), Oriana (Mid), Sivir (Bot), and Neeko (Support).

1^st Blood at 4 minutes as C9 ganks DIG’s Bot Lane and Zven kills Tomo. C9 uses this lead to secure the 1^st Drake (Infernal). A fight over Voidgrubs results in Blaber Smiting away 1 at the cost of his life. DIG secures the other 2. Early Game ends with C9 ahead in gold by 700 and the kill score even at 1-1.

C9 grabs the 2^nd Drake (Mountain) uncontested. The Rift Herald, on the other hand, is taken by DIG. Keine gets taken low by Loki in Top Lane and then gets assassinated by Blaber. C9 then set up around the Dragon Pit. Once the 3^rd Drake (Cloud) spawns, C9 starts it up. Sheiden is able to kill Blaber and Steal the Drake. However, he and Keine both die for it. The Mid Game ends with C9 still ahead in gold (now by 2.2k) and in kills (now by 4-2).

A fight over Atakhan results in a 3-2 win for C9. However, no one is able to claim the objective. After everyone respawns, there is a trade of objectives. C9 claims the Atakhan, while DIG takes the 4^th Drake. After Baron spawns, Sheiden and Isles Realm Warp into the C9 back line to try and take out their carries. However, C9 turns the tables on them and kills them. They then rotate over and take Baron.

Using Baron Buff, C9 takes the Base Mid Turret, Base Bot Turret, Bot Inhibitor, and the 5^th Drake. After Baron Buff ends, while C9 are sieging Top Lane, DIG grabs on kill on Loki. C9 retaliates by grabbing 2 kills of their own. C9 then takes the Base Top Turret. As they do this, they get another kill on to Blaber but lose 2 of their own. The score is now 12-7 in C9’s favor. They take the Top Inhibitor and then back off.

When Baron spawns, C9 starts it up. DIG tries to intervene, but C9 pushes them away and kills Sheiden before claiming the objective. With this 2^nd Baron, they push into DIG’s Base through Mid, grab 3 more kills, and end the game 35:29. The final score was 17-7.

Game 2: C9 Flinch but Don’t Falter

Image from League of Legends courtesy of Riot Games

The 1^st set of bans takes out Poppy, Pantheon, Galio, Varus, Annie, and Azir from the equation. The 2^nd set removes Tristana, Aurora, Corki, and Ornn. C9’s comp of Rumble (Top), Skarner (Jungle), Taliyah (Mid), Lucian (Bot), and Alistar (Support) is very engaging and zoning-focused. DIG aims for a more chase/pursuit comp as they draft Kled (Top), Wukong (Jungle), Ahri (Mid), Yunara (Bot), and Bard (Support).

Nothing interesting happens until DIG starts up the 1^st Drake (Hextech). Blaber dies to Photon for 1^st Blood. No one is able to claim the Drake, though. The next big fight starts up over Voidgrubs. While Blaber is able to secure 1 Grub for his team, he dies as a result. As the fight continues, Loki, Isles, Vulcan, and Photon all die as well. The fight goes on for so long that Blaber is able to respawn and rejoin. After claiming 1 Grub for themselves, DIG backs off, allowing Blaber to secure the last Grub. The Early Game ends with DIG slightly ahead in gold (100) and also ahead in kills by 4-2.

Mid Game starts off with DIG returning to the 1^st Drake. They are able to secure, but they lose the ensuing team fight 1-4. A trade of Tower Dives brings the skill score up to 7-6 in C9’s favor. C9 claims the Rift Herald, but DIG claims the 2^nd Drake (Ocean). C9 drops the Herald in Mid Lane. They try to use it to take the Outer Turret, but Isles stops them with a Tempered Fate. Blaber then drives the Herald up to Top Lane, but he misses hitting the Inner Turret. He is forced out and, since he’s separated from his team, gets killed. Mid Game ends with C9 still ahead in gold (now by 1.8k) and the kill score even at 7-7.

C9 starts up the Atakhan basically on spawn. DIG doesn’t notice until it’s too late, so C9 are able to secure it uncontested. As DIG hovers around afterwards, C9 engages with them. The fight goes 4-0 for C9. Once the 3^rd Drake (Cloud) spawns, C9 starts it up. As Photon scouts for his team, C9 turns and kills him before finishing off the Drake. Zven then uses The Culling to kill Tomo. The score is now 13-7.

While scouting, Loki runs face-first into Sheiden and dies. DIG then tries to engage Zven in Mid Lane, but he’s able to kite them back. They end up killing Thanatos instead. As C9 set up around Baron, they spot Keine and chunk him down so much that he has to run away. C9 uses this opening to start up the Baron. Though DIG tries multiple times to get close to the objective for a potential Steal, C9 denies them at every turn and secures the objective while also grabbing a kill on Sheiden.

Using Baron Buff, C9 takes the Top and Mid Inhibitors, grabs 2 kills, loses 1 member, and takes out both Nexus Turrets. They then back off. After everyone respawns, C9 marches back into DIG’s Base. DIG tries to push them out, but C9 turns the tables and ACEs them. They then end the game at 32:12 with a 10.3k gold lead. The final score was 21-11.

Post Series Analysis: A Lack of Vision in the LTA North

In Game 1, DIG got outplayed from start to finish, plain and simple. In Game 2, they had the opportunity to win, but their lack of vision allowed C9 to sneakily take the Atakhan. Since they were already starting to come back at this point, this led to C9 getting the power they needed to win team fights more consistently.

As interesting as it was to see Kled in the game, he was a bit hit or miss. He was helping in the Early Game when DIG was ahead, but towards the Late Game, he started to become a liability. Admittedly, this was not so much the fault of the champion. Photon just got caught out too many times. I feel like I should point out that Srtty, who DIG replaced with Photon, won his series on Saturday. Do with that information what you will.