Having passed the Auditions with four yeses and a standing ovation, for the Mad-Dog from Sassari the journey at X Factor 2026 now enters its most selective phase.
The Auditions officially concluded on Thursday September 24 and the Sky talent show is ready to move on to the Bootcamp, scheduled for the episodes on October 1 and 8. This will be the next televised obstacle for the young Sassarese band consisting of Renato Marchisio, Davide Dore, Luca Pintus and Jacopo Sale.
The four had won over Francesco Gabbani, Irama, Jake La Furia and Paola Iezzi with their interpretation of “Brianstorm” by the Arctic Monkeys, obtaining the jury's unanimity and passing to the next phase. A performance detailed in our previous in-depth look at Mad-Dog at X Factor 2026 and the four yeses won at the Auditions.
Now, however, the level of selection rises.
X Factor 2026, how the Bootcamps work
The X Factor 2026 Bootcamps will be broadcast in two episodes, Thursday October 1st and Thursday October 8th.
The mechanism will be stricter than the Auditions. While in the first phase at least three out of four yeses were sufficient to advance, at the Bootcamps the artists must obtain the unanimity of the jury.
To continue the journey, four yeses from Francesco Gabbani, Irama, Jake La Furia and Paola Iezzi will therefore be required.
However, there is a second chance: the X Pass. Each judge will have only one X Pass available, with which they can choose a contestant and guarantee them direct access to the next phase, adding them to their own team.
For the Mad-Dog, it will therefore be necessary to convince the entire panel once again or win the particular trust of one of the four judges.
At the moment, it has not been officially announced in which of the two Bootcamp episodes the Sassarese band's performance will be broadcast.
No Home Visit: after the Bootcamps come the Last Calls
The structure of X Factor 2026 does not include Home Visits, a phase present in older editions of the program.
After the two Bootcamp appointments, it will move directly to the Last Call, airing Thursday October 15.
It will be the final step before the Live Shows and, above all, the one that will officially define the four teams.
Each judge must select three artists, for a total of 12 contestants admitted to the live phase. The chair mechanism will return: initially, the chosen talents will occupy one of the three available seats, but a new performance could cause a switch, forcing the judge to eliminate one of the previously selected artists.
Only at the end of the Last Calls will the 12 official contestants of X Factor 2026 be known.
For the Mad-Dog, therefore, passing the Bootcamps would represent only the second step. To truly enter the competition, they will also need to win one of the three chairs in a judge's team.
The Live Shows begin on October 22
Once the Last Calls are passed, the nature of the competition will change completely.
The X Factor 2026 Live Shows will begin on Thursday October 22, with the 12 remaining contestants called to perform week after week on the stage of the Teatro Repower in Milan.
The calendar provides for six appointments before the final:
October 22, 2026 – first Live Show October 29, 2026 – Live Show November 5, 2026 – Live Show November 12, 2026 – Live Show November 19, 2026 – Live Show November 26, 2026 – last Live before the final
From that moment on, it will no longer be just a selection in front of the four judges. For the artists, the actual journey in the program will begin, with assignments, eliminations and the progressive presentation of their musical identity.
The X Factor 2026 final on December 3 in Milan
The final appointment of the twentieth edition is already set.
The X Factor 2026 final will be held on Thursday December 3 at the Unipol Forum in Assago, bringing the concluding act of the talent show back to Milan after the two editions organized in Piazza del Plebiscito in Naples.
Before they can think about the Forum, however, the road remains long for the Mad-Dog.
The complete calendar of the next phases is as follows:
- October 1st: Bootcamp
- October 8th: Bootcamp
- October 15th: Last Call
- October 22nd: Live Show
- October 29th: Live Show
- November 5th: Live Show
- November 12th: Live Show
- November 19th: Live Show
- November 26th: Live Show
- December 3rd: X Factor 2026 final
For the band that started in the clubs and on the stages of Sassari, the first goal remains one: pass the Bootcamps and win a place at the Last Call.
After the impact of the Auditions and the four yeses obtained with “Brianstorm”, X Factor now enters the phase where every performance can decide whether the journey will continue or not.