What chairs are the world’s best esports pros using these days? The 2021 League of Legends World Championship’s group stage is set. Here’s a quick look at the 16 Group Stage teams and their official chair partners.
The 2021 League of Legends World Championships is in Reykjavík, Iceland. The Finals go down on Nov. 6. All stages of play take place at the Laugardalshöll indoor sporting arena.
For the past three years, Secretlab has provided the chairs for each Finals event. This year’s models are 2022 Series Titan editions (available in small, medium, and XL sizes).
Chairs match the color scheme of this year’s Finals. The design has a clean white leatherette base, tri-color accents, and intricate embroidery on the front and back.
Titan 2021 LoL Finals Edition (medium) $499
The Titan 2021 LOL Finals Edition is also available in an XL size for $549. Available from Secretlab in North America, the EU and UK, Oceania, Singapore, and Malaysia.
Group Stage Teams and Chair Partners
Here’s a look at the 16 teams qualifying for this year’s Group Stage. The top two teams from each group advance to an 8-team playoffs (quarterfinals, semifinals, finals). Group stages run from Oct. 11-18. The playoffs are from October 22-31.
For insight into each team’s previous successes, we’ve included career earnings figures from esportsearnings.com.
Finals Group A
ChairsFX routinely checks what chairs the top pro teams are using. That’s a small part of keeping tabs on general industry trends.
Group A teams have a diverse range of chair partners, all Asian-based. Autofull and Victorage are two of China’s biggest chair brands/ esports team partners. Cloud9 chair partner Secretlab is headquartered in Singapore.
Meanwhile, Damwon Gaming uses a locally-made Kia Xenix chair. It’s one of many Korean-made esports chairs catering mainly to the local market.
| Team | Country | Career earnings | Chair Partner |
| Damwon Gaming | South Korea | $1,441,665 | Kia Xenix |
| Team FunPlus Phoenix | China | $1,973,816 | Victorage |
| Rogue Esports | USA | $2,225,187 | Autofull |
| Cloud9 | USA | $10,630,111 | Secretlab |
From a team perspective, Cloud9 is the big daddy of the group. Based on career earnings, they are 12th all-time. Earlier this year, Cloud9 became one of four esports teams worth over $300 million.
The team trains out of four side-by-side houses in an LA neighborhood. Official Cloud9 gaming chairs are an essential part of their training regimen. The Finals chairs are also Secretlab Titan 2022 Series.
That could give Cloud9 an edge — competing on stage in the same chairs they use for training. Will it help? The team has won 4 LCS titles, but never the grand prize. Will this be their year?
Finals Group B
Among Group B teams, only Secretlab’s T1 team chair is available for sale. It’s a striking maroon chair available in three sizes.
Secretlab also makes official 100 Thieves edition chairs. However, those are only for team players — not for sale. Edward gaming has no chair partner.
Meanwhile, the DetonatioN FocusMe team chair is only available in Japan.
| Team | Country | Career earnings | Chair Partner |
| Edward Gaming | China | $3,874,113 | none |
| 100 Thieves | USA | $3,994,201 | Secretlab |
| T1 | South Korea | $10,616,584 | Secretlab |
| DetonatioN FocusMe | Japan | $853,298 | DXRacer |
Based on earnings and past successes, T1 should be favored in Group B. T1 has won the League of Legends Worlds three times (2013, 2015, 2016). After failing to qualify for the 2020 Finals, T1 looks primed for another run to glory.
Team captain Faker (Lee Sang-hyeok) is an LoL superstar. He’s the first LCK player to reach 2,000 kills. He’s also one of the only two players to have won the League of Legends Worlds three times.
Finals Group C
Three of the four Group C teams have chair partners. Each team’s official chair has a striking, unique design. However, only Anda Seat’s Fnatic edition is available for sale in most markets.
Autofull’s official Royal Never Give up chair is only available in China. Meanwhile, PSG Talon’s chair is only available in Europe. It comes from the pioneer of racing seat technology for cars. Recaro has been developing automotive sports car seating in Stuttgart, Germany since 1965. Its gaming division started up in 2016.
The Recaro EXO has 4D arms, non-adjustable lumbar support, and an optional headrest. It costs a hefty €819 ($947 USD) and is only available in Europe.
| Team | Country | Career earnings | Chair Partner |
| PSG Talon | Hong Kong | $769,019 | Recaro |
| Fnatic | UK | $16,396,446 | Anda Seat |
| Royal Never Give Up | China | $6,241,855 | Autofull |
| Hanwha Life Esports | South Korea | $103,579 | None |
There are two juggernauts in Group C to look out for. Based on career earnings, Fnatic ranks fourth all-time. Founded in 2004, the team won the Finals in 2011 and has 7 LEC championships.
Royal Never Give Up (RNG) is a younger Chinese team established in 2015. Since then, they’ve won the LPL Spring Playoffs in 2016 and 2018. In 2018 and 2021, RNG also won the Mid-Season Invitationals.
Finals Group D
There are two relative newcomers in Group D plus two all-time greats. Neither of the newcomers has an official chair partner.
Based on earnings, Team Liquid is the most successful esports team in history. They’ve been partnered with Secretlab for around a year. The official Team Liquid gaming chair is a classy blue model with a white base, golden embroidery, and herringbone stitching.
Gen.G is one of South Korea’s top esports teams. At the team’s Seoul HQ, they use locally-made Sidiz T80 ergonomic chairs. The T80 is an ergonomic office chair ideal for gamers. It’s significantly cheaper than the Herman Miller Aeron, yet offers similar functionality.
| Team | Country | Career earnings | Chair Partner |
| Mad Lions | Spain | $1,083,358 | none |
| Gen.G | South Korea | $6,952,582 | Sidiz |
| Team Liquid | USA | $37,606,677 | Secretlab |
| LNG Esports | China | $74,537 | none |
Team Liquid is the giant of Group D, ranking first overall in career earnings. To date, they’ve won four LCS titles, but never the Finals.
Gen.G ranks 22nd in career earnings. Headquartered in Seoul and Santa Monica, they’re the sixth-most valuable esports team in the world, valued at $185 million.
Gen.G made its debut at the 2018 Worlds but went 1-5. They rebounded in 2020 to reach the quarterfinals. 2021 marks their third attempt at glory.
Other Gaming Chairs Used By The Pros
This article covers the gaming chair partners of the 2021 LoL Group Stage finalists. It’s part of a broader question we often ask: what gaming chairs do the pros use?
ChairsFX checks pro chair usage from a variety of angles. Here are some other cases studies on the topic:
- Chairs Used By the Top Streamers of 2021
- Gaming Chairs Used by the Top-Performing Esports Teams of 2020
- Gaming Chairs Used By the Top-Earning Esports Teams of All Time
- What Gaming Chairs Do Pro Athlete Gamers Use?
