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A NEW FORMAT SPURS COMPETITION (PBR TEAMS
The PBR changed the game when it announced its new Team Series, which would put the world’s most elite bull riders up against one another in a series of 5-on-5 headto-head competitions culminating in a Superbowl-style rodeo standoff.
Bull riding is notoriously solitary, so competing as teams seemed utterly novel. Still, hometown pride is real. With enthusiasm behind classic team sports such as football and baseball, it seemed like a clever play to bring audiences together to root for their favorite riders
in a competitive format where there’s more at stake than ever.
These riders would be drafted in the same way sports like football and basketball hold drafts to build the best teams. The individual riders would work together, train together, and win or lose together. They would represent cities, and brands would even add their names to some of them. The teams would be composed of seven core competitors and three practice squad members, though only four riders would participate in each head-to-head matchup.
The PBR’s gamble paid off. Since the PBR Team Series kicked off on July 25 and 26 at Cheyenne Frontier Days in Cheyenne, Wyoming, audiences have shown up in droves to cheer on their favorite teams and riders.
The PBR Team Series follows a tournament-style format. The individual scoring format hasn’t changed, as each player is judged out of 50 points, and each bull gets a score, too. Teams face off head-to-head, and the team that scores the highest number of overall points wins. Teams face different competitors each day of every event. The team with the most wins at the end of an event wins. If there’s a tie, there’s a final matchup to settle the score.
Now, each team is fighting its way into a playoff series and finale event at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas from November 4-6.
Photo: Andre Silva / Bull Stock Media
HERE’S A BREAKDOWN OF THE TEAMS AND ROSTERS AND AN OVERVIEW OF HOW THEY’VE BEEN PERFORMING THROUGHOUT THE SEASON.
Photo: Andre Silva / Bull Stock Media
AUSTIN GAMBLERS
Coach: Michael Gaffney • Jose Vitor Leme • Austin Richardson • Lucas Divino • Claudio Montanha Jr. • Conner Halverson • Alex Marcilio • Blake Smith • Dakota Luis • Elijah Mora • Ezekiel Mitchell • Griffin Smeltzer
Rider Winnings: $140,483 Team Winnings: $192,000 Total Winnings: $332,483
Perhaps it’s no surprise that Jose Vitor Leme was the first rider picked for the league. The Austin Gamblers claimed the two-time PBR World Champion, who had sustained an injury just days before the draft after a spill at the 2022 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast left him with four broken ribs and a partially collapsed lung. Still, Leme has repeatedly proved that he’s damn near unstoppable, leading the Team Series MVP race and going 10-for-14 throughout the Team Series season so far. And, even when Leme bucked off at the PBR Stampede Days in a match against the Carolina Cowboys, the boys came through, with rides from Ezekiel Mitchell and Austin Richardson carrying the win.
At the time of publication, the Gamblers sit neck-andneck with the Missouri Thunder at 7-3-0. However, with more than $40,000 in earnings ahead of the Thunder, the Gamblers may be the team to beat when the playoffs roll around in just a few months.
Photo: Andre Silva / Bull Stock Media
NASHVILLE STAMPEDE
Coach: Justin McBride • Kaique Pacheco • Dener Barbosa • Ryan Dirteater • Joao Henrique Lucas • Dustin Ortiz • Fernando Novais • Jaxston Mortenson • Lucas Fideles Souza • Mason Moody • Silvano Alves • Thiago Salgado • Matt Triplett • Manoelito de Souza Jr.
Rider Winnings: $91,700 Team Winnings: $89,000 Total Winnings: $180,700
The Nashville Stampede have had a difficult season, but it looks as though it might be turning around now that the team has recruited Silvano Alves to its team. In what could have been a no-score matchup against the Texas Rattlers, Alves pulled off the only ride between both teams to earn a win for the Stampede in the team’s hometown at PBR Stampede Days. With this win, the Stampede now stands even with the Texas Rattlers and the Oklahoma Freedom at 3-7-0. While it may be tough to turn the team around completely, the win is a promising indicator that adding Alves to the roster was a good move for the franchise.
ARIAT TEXAS RATTLERS
Coach: Cody Lambert • Cody Jesus • Brady Oleson • Brady Fielder • JC Mortensen • Braidy Randolph • Ednei Caminhas • Junior Patrik Souza • Jake Morinec • Rafael Jose de Brito
Rider Winnings: $85,075 Team Winnings: $86,000 Total Winnings: $171,075
It’s been a bit slow going this season for the Texas Rattlers. Even with Cody Jesus, who ranked seventh in the regular season, Brady Fielder, who landed 22nd in the season, and 12-year PBR veteran Ednei Caminhas on the team, it hasn’t been enough to get this team where it needs to go.
But maybe some fresh blood is what this team needs to help push the team out of its 3-7-0 slump. That may have been what coach Cody Lambert was backing on when he agreed to trade Ednelio Almeida, who is on injured reserve, to the Carolina Cowboys for Junior Patrik Souza. It’ll be interesting to see whether the team’s gamble on Souza pays off.
Photo: Andre Silva / Bull Stock Media
KANSAS CITY OUTLAWS
Coach: J.W. Hart • Dalton Kasel • Kyler Oliver • Bob Mitchell • Tate Pollmeier • Bill Henry • Clancy Hart • Cole Malancon • Dalton Rudman • Dustin Martinez • Koltin Hevalow • Marcus Mast • Sam Woodall • Rafael Henrique dos Santos
Rider Winnings: $99,767 Team Winnings: $106,000 Total Winnings: $205,767
It’s hard to put the finger on why this team is sitting in the mid-tier. Though Dalton Kasel, Bob Mitchell and Marcus Mast are putting on decent showings, the fact that it’s a team event means everyone competing needs to carry their weight. But, at 4-6-0, the team needs to push harder as a unit if it wants to succeed on the circuit.
But now that Kyler Oliver is back in the game after recovering from a broken neck, there’s no telling what the future holds for this team. Oliver placed tenth in the standings during the regular season, and his run included five rides scored 90 points or higher. He could singlehandedly turn this team around with numbers like that, provided he’s back in full force after his recovery.
MISSOURI THUNDER
Co-coach: Luke Snyder Co-coach: Ross Coleman • Colten Fritzlan • Clayton Sellars • Cody Teel • Andrew Alvidrez • Jesse Petri • Adriano Salgado • Callum Miller • Leandro Machado • Luke Parkinson • Marcelo Procopio
Rider Winnings: $128,742 Team Winnings: $163,000 Total Winnings: $291,742
The Thunder are out to rumble and have shown they’re unwilling to give up the top spot without a fight. Tied with the Gamblers at 7-3-0, this team proves that teamwork makes the dream work, giving it their all to lead the pack as a unit.
Colten Fritzlan alone has amassed more than $31,000 in earnings, but teammates Cody Teel, Andrew Alvirdrez, Jesse Petri, Adriano Salgado, and Clayton Sellars have all earned at least $10,000 individually as well.
Unlike the Gamblers, the Thunder don’t have last year’s World Champion to help drive their earnings. While most of the riders on this team are seasoned and experienced, the team is an underdog facing off against Leme, the cowboy who has a record-smashing 75 lifetime 90-point rides. As such, it’s quite a feat to see these boys giving it their all to go neck-and-neck with their rival team to earn glory with their emphasis on consistency.
Photo: Andy Watson / Bull Stock Media
ARIZONA RIDGE RIDERS
Co-coach: Colby Yates Co-coach: Paulo Crimber • Luciano De Castro • Mauricio Moreira • Eduardo Aparecido • Chase Dougherty • Marco Eguchi • Vitor Losnake • Alisson de Souza • Josh Steele • Keyshawn Whitehorse • Paulo Lima • Ross Freeman • Sandro Batista • Tyce Willis
Rider Winnings: $116,450 Team Winnings: $138,000 Total Winnings: $254,450
Ranked third in the team standings at 6-4-0, the Ridge Riders’ consistent runs prove they may have the power to unseat both the Gamblers and the Thunder to edge them out as the season leader. With half a dozen rodeos before the playoffs, the team could edge its way into the top seed for the playoffs.
This group proves it’s a team effort as these riders fight to the top. Although Luciano De Castro is 6-for14 rides throughout the Team Series, and Alisson de Souza is 8-for-16, their combined efforts haven’t quite managed to push them into the top spot. This team has the potential to unseat the leaders, but only time will tell if they’re willing to give it their all to get ahead.
Photo: Andy Watson / Bull Stock Media
CAROLINA COWBOYS
Coach: Jerome Davis • Daylon Swearingen • Mason Taylor • Boudreaux Campbell • Ramon de Lima • Cannon Cravens • Cooper Davis • Cody Casper • Ednélio Almeida • Lane Nobles • Leonardo Lima • Nathan Hatchel • Wingson Henrique da Silva • Wyatt Rogers
The Carolina Cowboys currently stand at the middle of the pack, with a 5-5-0 season. The team MVP has been Daylon Swearingen, who earned the distinction of being the PBR’s number one ranked bull rider in the 2022 regular season. He currently leads the team in earnings at $32,700, aided in part by a 92.5 ride on I’m Legit Too in a bonus round during the Team Series’ inaugural event in Cheyenne. Still, it’s the luck of the draw sometimes, and even though he’s had plenty of solid rides, it hasn’t been enough to edge out the competition in the head-tohead format.
Mason Taylor, who ranked 13th for the overall regular season, is also putting forth a solid effort. While he’s managed several rides throughout the Team Series, he just hasn’t quite been able to pull the numbers to bring the numbers to push the Cowboys into the forefront. Fortunately, this team still has plenty of time to show its true potential and claim its place at the top of the standings.
OKLAHOMA FREEDOM
Coach: Cord McCoy • Eli Vastbinder • Derek Kolbaba • Chase Outlaw • Briggs Madsen • Jess Lockwood • Casey Roberts • Dawson Branton • Deklan Garland • Kyle McDaniel • Shawn Bennett Jr. • Trevor Kastner
Oklahoma Freedom’s 3-7-0 record puts them in the same spot as the Rattlers and the Stampede. Even with such a stacked team of active riders, including Eli Vastbinder, who ranked ninth in the 2022 regular season, and Derek Kolbaba, who claimed fifteenth in the overall season, the team hasn’t been consistent enough to pull the numbers it needs to get ahead.
However, with two-time World Champion Jess Lockwood and eight-time World Finals qualifier Chase Outlaw debuting with the team, the Freedom might have just the manpower it needs to set itself back on course this season. Both have been out with injuries, so they have to prove to the world that they can step back in and do exactly what they need to do to get this team out of its slump.
