Top Chinese team, Vici Gaming, will be taking a mid-season break and skipping the ESL One Los Angeles Major.

The break has been confirmed by Vici’s absence on ESL’s list of invited teams for the Chinese Closed qualifiers.

Vici Gaming is currently in second place on the DPC rankings with 5,100 points.

They finished in second place at the MDL Chengdu Major losing in the Grand Finals to TNC Predator. They secured a third-place finish at DreamLeague Season 13: Leipzig Major after falling to Evil Geniuses.

With two consistent Major performances, they’re already projected to be one of the top teams to compete at The International 2020 in Stockholm.

In an interview with Chinese website MAX + last December, right after Vici Gaming won the ONE Esports Dota 2 Singapore World Pro Invitational, the team’s leader and coach Bai “rOtK” Fan explained why the team will be taking a break from competing.

The first reason is that Zhou “Yang” Haiyang has had issues getting a travel visa to the United States. “To some lengths, it is because the third Major is run in the United States and Yang’s visa has already been rejected six or seven times. This is an issue everyone is considering,” rOtK explained. “On the other hand, we also need to rest, we cannot participate in every high-intensity competition.”

rOtK also mentioned that he originally wanted to let the players go to the Leipzig Major on their own, so he could go home during the Lunar New Year holiday to be with his family. But he ultimately decided against it. The team opted to take a break and be with their families after the New Year instead.

“Our goal this season is not to win many championships,” rOtK replied when asked about Vici Gaming’s team mentality. “The most important thing for us is to make effective adjustments to our mindset and to learn from tournaments and make progress.”

Vici Gaming has not released an official statement about their withdrawal from the ESL LA Major. But with the coronavirus outbreak happening and different companies deciding to postpone certain esports events, these are likely all factors that led to the team taking a break from competition.

With Vici Gaming out of the ESL One Los Angeles Major, the door has opened up for other Chinese Dota 2 teams to make a run at the third Major of the season.

READ MORE: China qualifiers for the LA Major have been postponed due to the coronavirus outbreak