Reported by Miro Albertazzi, VEKN National Coordinator of Italy:

During the weekend of February 27 to March 1, the Italian community of Vampire: The Eternal Struggle gathered in Trento for one of the most anticipated events of the year: the Italian Championship 2026. The event took place at Hotel Paoli, in Lochere, that became for three days a true domain for 47 Methuselahs from all around our country, filled with intense games, old friends meeting again, and new players ready to face their first great challenge!

The tournament was organized by Giulio De Cicco (Prince of Trento) together with the National Coordinator Miro Albertazzi. 

In the three preliminary rounds the gamewins were spread amongst a lot of players, proving that competition was very high and tables had different balances across the rounds. The race for a spot in the final was tight until the very last victory point!

So this was the final standing:
1. 1 GW 7 VP - Federico “Rip” Ferrarini (180 TP)
2. 1 GW 7 VP - Daniel “The fresh demon” Pergola (162 TP) 
3. 1 GW 6 VP - Damiano “Dam” Ghiaroni 
4. 1 GW 6 VP - Filippo “Taxi Driver” Del Re
5. 1 GW 5,5 VP - Giulio “The elevator’s wizard” Roffi

As you can see, there were a tie for first and second place, a tie for the third and fourth, both resolved with the Table Point… but also the fifth place was a total tie: Giulio Roffi and Dario Manzo had the same GWs, VPs and table point too! So it was a coin toss to give Giulio the final table, a special mention to Dario, who couldn’t reach the final for a pinch of luck!

The finalists: Daniel, Filippo, Federico, Giulio and Damiano.

The fear of the Ravnos deck put the politicians on the defensive, leaving an easy point to Federico. After that, the !Ventrue! grinder put up a talkative strategy that filled the game of uncertainty, Daniel was a bit unlucky and suffered from an unexpected lack of stealth for all the game long, so Giulio got his VP at last; but with few minute left on the clock the game ended at the time, and Federico Ferrarini from Bologna emerged victorious, claiming the title of Italian Champion. Federico piloted his deck, an old archetype, with patience and built his victory around table control, steady offense and defense, and strong long-term resource management.

The tournament winning deck: “ventrue grinder” by Federico Ferrarini

Crypt (12 cards)
2x Owain Evans, The Wanderer 8 AUS DOM FOR cel pre Ventrue antitribu:3
2x Blackhorse Tanner 7 AUS DOM FOR Ventrue antitribu:3
1x Edward Neally 7 DOM FOR aus pre Ventrue antitribu:3
1x Jefferson Foster 6 AUS DOM for tha bishop Ventrue antitribu:4
1x Mariel St. John 6 AUS FOR dom pro Ventrue antitribu:4
2x Neighbor John 5 AUS dom for Ventrue antitribu:4
1x Jephta Hester 5 DOM FOR aus Ventrue antitribu:4
1x Lana Butcher 3 dom for Ventrue:3
1x Ulrike Rothbart 3 dom for Ventrue antitribu:4

Library (90 cards)
Master (15; 5 trifle) 
1x Anarch Troublemaker
1x Channel 10
1x Corporate Hunting Ground
1x Coven, The
2x Dreams of the Sphinx
2x Effective Management
1x KRCG News Radio
1x Pentex(TM) Subversion
1x Powerbase: Montreal
3x Vessel
1x Wider View

Action (14) 
13x Govern the Unaligned
1x Under Siege

Equipment (2) 
1x .44 Magnum
1x Heart of Nizchetus

Action Modifier (8) 
4x Bonding
3x Conditioning
1x Daring the Dawn

Combat (23) 
1x Aura Reading
4x Hidden Strength
1x Lessons in the Steel
8x Rolling with the Punches
3x Soak
6x Weighted Walking Stick

Reaction (28)
5x Deflection
4x Delaying Tactics
1x Eagle's Sight
5x Eyes of Argus
3x My Enemy's Enemy
4x On the Qui Vive
6x Telepathic Misdirection

During the weekend, there was also time for the traditional Saturday evening dinner, which concluded with a VTES-themed cake celebrating the event.

The Side Event took place the day after, with the 33 remaining Methuselahs. In the final, the Trento player  Thomas “Thomu” Marchiori, successfully defended the honor of the host city and won the awesome Signpost ready to be torn!

A big thank to the organizers, a bigger one for Mistlore, the Italian VTES distributor, for sponsoring and supporting the events, along with Black Chantry, Ultrapro and CardGamegeek.

The biggest thank goes to all the players who attended, and to the Italian community that continues to keep the game alive, amusing and competitive.

And congratulations again to Federico Ferrarini, the new Italian Champion, and see you all at the next major Vampire: The Eternal Struggle event!

Thanks for this report Miro, and thanks to all organisers, sponsors and players!