The massive Valorant Champions 2026 tournament has officially concluded, and the VCT season is in the history books.
However, millions of players watched the Grand Finals this weekend without realizing they were missing out on exclusive, free in-game cosmetics. Riot Games released a limited-edition Gun Buddy and Player Card that will never return to the Valorant store.
If you watched the streams but forgot to claim your loot, the portal closes tonight. Here is how to quickly link your Riot ID and claim your free Twitch drops before they disappear forever.
- Table of Contents:
- The ‘Never Return’ Policy
- How to Link Your Riot Account
- 💡 Expert Comments: AFK Farming
🔍 ALSO READ: Valorant Champions 2026: Group Standings & Meta Fallouts
1. The ‘Never Return’ Policy
Why are these specific drops so highly coveted? Riot Games has a strict policy regarding VCT Championship drops: they are physically removed from the game’s code regarding future store rotations.
[🎬 WORDPRESS ACTION: Embed a YouTube Video of the ‘Valorant Champions 2026 Free Drops Trailer’ right here!]
Unlike standard weapon skins that rotate in your daily shop or the Night Market, if you do not claim the 2026 VCT Spark Player Card and the Golden Gun Buddy tonight, your account will literally never be able to obtain them again. This makes them some of the rarest account “flex” items in the entire game.
2. How to Link Your Riot Account
🚨 CLAIM INVENTORY WARNING
Even if you watched the required 30 minutes of the Grand Finals, the items do not magically appear in your game. You must manually navigate to your Twitch Inventory page and click “Claim” to push the items to the Valorant servers.
If you haven’t linked your account yet, you can still claim drops from official VCT co-streamers running VODs tonight.
- Log into your Twitch.tv account.
- Click your Profile Picture in the top right and select Settings.
- Navigate to the Connections tab.
- Scroll down to Riot Games and click Connect.
- Log in with your standard Valorant username and password.
🛡️ EXPERT COMMENTS: AFK DROP FARMING
How do you get drops if you are busy working?
You do not need to actively watch the screen to earn Twitch Drops. The best strategy is to open the official Valorant Twitch stream on your mobile phone, drop the stream quality to 160p (to save bandwidth and battery), and mute the volume. Plug your phone into a charger and leave it running face-down on your desk. The Twitch API will still register you as an active viewer, allowing you to passively farm the exclusive drops while you are doing something else!
