This event was played with 10 players in Galway on August 17. Champion fourth from the left above. Report by Ben Fox, VEKN National Coordinator:

Irish Nationals finally scales up to Archon levels, entering the global scene!

After last year's terrible luck with countless players dropping within 48 hours of the event from dead pets, lost passports, getting recruited into the Men in Black, etc. We were able to get to gather with players from 3 countries, including the defending English and Irish national champions to compete for a one-of-a-kind playmat, and of course glory neverending.

After all the guessing of the "meta" ended up with a perfectly diverse collection of decks.  Players both at their first events, and ancient methuselah rising up from the dawn of the dame to resume their dominance. Decks were split from known contenders from the global scene, to zany things with an Anarch Unnamed trying to Shatter the Gate, and Gabrielle de Righetti crying Crocodile Tears.  

Standings before final:
1. Sérgio Martins 2 GW, 6 VP
2. Desmond Kenny 1 GW, 3.5 VP
3. Oisin McDermott 3 VP
4. Mikey Ferguson 2.5 VP
5. Lotte Siebert 1 VP

In a heavily anarch field, the defending champion was able to focus on keeping the main thing being the main thing, fearlessly bleeding for all the bleed and stealth deck could possibly muster, surviving the ordeal of having to flip a coin to get into the final, Gangrel burning them down to fewer than 8 cards left in the deck, and Nosferatu protecting their district like it is the last bastion of darkness in the world.

Final result: Lotte Siebert 3 VP, Oisin McDermott 1 VP, Mikey Ferguson 1 VP.

Congratulations to Lotte for being a two-time undisputed Irish National Champion, and to everyone who turned up to show Ireland's growth as a VTES destination, hopefully tempting more players out of torpor in the year to come.

Lotte´s tournament winning deck: "Malkav's Pain Train"

Crypt (12 cards)
1x Abraham Mellon 8 AUS DOM OBF for tha Malkavian:6
1x Alexander Silverson 8 AUS DOM OBF pre prince Malkavian:6
1x Gilbert Duane 7 AUS DOM OBF baron Malkavian:6
1x Jason "Son" Newberry 7 AUS DOM OBF pre primogen Malkavian:6
1x Nathaniel Bordruff 7 DOM OBF POT ani  Nosferatu:6
1x Andi Liu 6 DOM aus obf pre prince Malkavian:6
1x Darius Shirazi 6 AUS DOM obf  Malkavian:5
1x Gelasia Fotiou 6 AUS DOM obf pre  Malkavian:6
1x Colette 5 AUS OBF dom  Malkavian:6
1x Evan Klein 5 OBF aus dom pre  Malkavian:6
1x Sully  4 aus dom obf  Malkavian:6
1x Ashley  3 dom obf  Malkavian:6

Library (90 cards)
Master (8)
2x Barrens, The
2x Blood Doll
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
1x Elder Library
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion

Action (20)
1x Conceal
19x Govern the Unaligned

Action Modifier (38)
3x Bonding
4x Cloak the Gathering
8x Conditioning
4x Elder Impersonation
4x Faceless Night
4x Foreshadowing Destruction
6x Lost in Crowds
5x Spying Mission

Action Modifier/Combat (4)
4x Swallowed by the Night

Combat (4)
4x No Trace

Reaction (16)
9x Deflection
2x Eyes of Argus
4x On the Qui Vive
1x Wake with Evening's Freshness

Also: Big thanks to Dungeons and Donuts Galway for all the effort they put into being the home of Irish VTES!