BIG’s Taylor-Petrik “vic0” Gatschelhofer, known to most fans as Vico, has opened up about years of mental health struggles, five weeks after finishing third at the FNCS Global Championship and stepping away from competitive Fortnite. In posts on X on Sunday, he said he attempted to take his own life shortly before Globals, and that he no longer has contact with his family.
The posts land in the middle of what was, on paper, the best year of his career. Vico and his duo partner Danila “Malibuca” Iakovenko won an FNCS Major LAN and the Fortnite title at the Esports World Cup, went into the last game of Globals in first place, and in October he was shortlisted for Esports PC Player of the Year.
A season that looked like a career year
Vico’s 2026 run with Malibuca is why BIG called them “the best duo of all time” after Globals. They won the FNCS Major 1 Summit in Düsseldorf, then took the inaugural Fortnite Reload Elite Series at the Esports World Cup 2026.
Globals, at the Lotto Arena in Antwerp from 24 to 27 September, nearly made it three. The BIG pair led by 32 points going into the final game and finished third, four points behind champions SwizzY and Pixie, for $160,000 from the $2,000,000 prize pool. Our Globals grand finals report covers how that last game unfolded.
BIG’s chief gaming officer, Roman Reinhardt, summed up the result at the time: “Third place at Fortnite Globals. So close, but that’s part of it and it stings. Not everyone can say they were one kill away from the Globals win.” He added a line aimed at his players: “We believe in you 100%.” The club’s own post on X put it more simply: “No third trophy but still a great result.”
In October, BIG announced that Vico was one of ten finalists for Esports PC Player of the Year at the Esports Awards 2026, with the winners due to be revealed in Miami on 17 November. “Vico has had an incredible year, and his journey is truly special,” Reinhardt said then. Vico called the nomination “a huge honour”.
The break, and what he has now shared
The first sign that something was wrong came on the final day of Globals. Vico said he had almost not attended the event, a comment picked up and shared by community accounts within hours. That evening he announced a break on X: “will be taking a break from competetive fortnite for a while. dealing with a lot of private stuff outside my competetive carreer and want to focus on that first and figure my life out. Will be back next year.”
He gave no further detail at the time. Sunday’s posts describe what sat behind that announcement: struggles that he says go back years, and a low point that came just before the biggest event of his season. He played Globals, and came within a kill of winning it, while dealing with all of it.
The reaction across the Fortnite scene has been one of support. Players and fans have replied to his posts with messages of encouragement, many of them making the same point: his health comes before any tournament. Vico has not given a date for a return. His September post said he would be back next year, and his place on the Esports Awards shortlist stands, with the result due on 17 November.
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