As seen during VALORANT Champions Tour (VCT) EMEA‘s opening week, Herman Miller Gaming has been named the event’s Official Chair Sponsor for Stage 2.
Throughout the event’s duration, from July 16th to August 31st, the brand will supply VCT EMEA players, coaches, and on-air talent with its Embody Gaming Chair model.
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VCT EMEA Stage 2 is the third and final regional competition in this year’s tier-one VALORANT esports season. Held at the Riot Games Arena in Berlin, Germany, the tournament sees 12 teams compete for a $250,000 (~£185,000) prize pool and a chance to qualify for the season-ending international VALORANT Champions event.
For Stage 2, Herman Miller Gaming has joined the league’s existing line-up of sponsors, including Sony’s gaming gear brand INZONE, energy drink Red Bull and payment solution paysafecard. Since 2020, the gaming-focused chair brand has followed the example of Herman Miller, an office furniture manufacturer established in 1905.
Jon Campbell, MillerKnoll Vice President of Seating and Gaming, commented on the partnership with VCT EMEA: “As passionate gamers ourselves who love tracking key events globally in gaming, it’s special for us to team up with VALORANT and Riot, a company that is paving the way in the gaming world and cares so much about organizing amazing tournaments for its players and fans.”
Gaming Chair Brands’ Involvement in Esports
The VCT EMEA deal is by far not the first time Herman Miller has partnered with an esports stakeholder. In its founding year, the brand teamed up with NRG’s Overwatch League franchise, the San Francisco Shock in 2020. Since then, Herman Miller has added additional esports organisations and tournaments to its partner portfolio.
Similar to gaming hardware and peripheral brands, gaming chair manufacturers have been common supporters of esports ventures since the industry’s early days. The likes of DXRacer, Secretlab and Blacklyte have leveraged partnerships with esports teams and other stakeholders to promote products among audiences.
As the esports industry matures, so does the nature of esports collaborations. In addition to sponsorship deals, brands have opted to launch gaming chairs co-created with esports entities, such as League of Legends player Faker and esports organisation Paper Rex.
Source: https://esportsinsider.com/
