But perhaps the biggest validation for any gaming chair is for it to be used at a professional, worldwide, gaming competition: Secretlab was chosen to be the official gaming chair for the 2019 edition of The International, the world’s largest gaming tournament for multiplayer online battle arena game Dota 2 with the largest prize pool in eSports history — a whopping US$34.3 million ($46.6 million).
Ian Ang spotted a niche creating chairs for gamers and his Secretlab is now the leading player.
Take a look through your social media feeds, and chances are, you may see a few of your friends flaunting their home offices, complete with dual monitor setups, wireless keyboards and mice — and a giant gaming chair. Chances also are that more often than not, that chair is a Secretlab chair.
How did a chair, primarily marketed at gamers and mostly only seen at eSports events, suddenly turn up everywhere, even though many who have it cannot claim to be professional gamers?
Secretlab was founded in 2014 by the duo of Ian Ang and Alaric Choo, who met while playing the real-time strategy game Starcraft II. As Ang recalls, the inspiration to start Secretlab came when he renovated his room a year earlier.
"I wanted a gaming setup, and the only thing missing [after the renovation] was the chair,” says Ang, CEO of the company, in an interview with The Edge Singapore. “As a gamer, I wanted to pick the best. So, I did a lot of research and I just couldn’t find one that I felt was really optimal.”
He cited several factors behind why he was not satisfied with the range of chairs at the time, including the price, the warranty, and most importantly, the comfort. “We just thought that is something that is missing, and we set about creating the best experience.”
And the best they did make. Secretlab’s chairs, most notably its 2020 series, have won multiple Editor’s Choice awards from gaming sites such as Gamesradar and Gameranx, and have garnered positive reviews from the likes of Forbes and cnet.
