By Kacie Albert
LAS VEGAS – At the first-ever PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Teams Ride-In Round Thursday night in Las Vegas at South Point Hotel and Casino, the Nashville Stampede and New York Mavericks kept their title hopes alive, delivering the Top 2 performances in the four-way game to advance to the opening round of the 2024 PBR Camping World Teams Championship getting underway Friday, October 18 at nearby T-Mobile Arena.
Via the game, the 2024 season for the Oklahoma Wildcatters and Arizona Ridge Riders came to an end as they were eliminated from the postseason.
As the first-ever Ride-In Round began, New York struck in the top of the first. The Mavericks’ Mason Taylor made the 8 atop Kodiac, and in a business decision, the Kody Lostroh-led outfit elected to keep the 77.75-point score despite being offered a re-ride. Arizona also converted in their opening out. Nick Tetz made the Ridge Riders’ presence known as he bested Rafter P Construction’s Smooth Over It for 81.75 points. Oklahoma, however, was unable to keep pace. They fell to a one ride score deficit as the Wildcatters’ opener Eduardo Matos was tossed in 3.15 seconds. As the frame concluded, the 2022 PBR Teams Champion Nashville Stampede took the game lead by 5 points as Alan de Souza rode Ah Hell for 86.75 points.
New York stumbled in the top of the second. Leonardo Castro proved no match for Hunter, hitting the ground prior to the whistle. The subsequent two outs then resulted in re-rides for both Arizona and Oklahoma as the scoreboard went unchanged. The Nashville Stampede’s momentum continued to roll to conclude the second. Cody Jesus outlasted Bruised Ego for 85.25 points, growing his team’s lead to 90.25 points over the second-place Arizona Ridge Riders.
Before the third began, both Arizona and Oklahoma attempted their re-rides, but both were dealt buckoffs as Colten Fritzlan couldn’t deliver for the Ridge Riders, and Austin Richardsonwas unsuccessful for the Wildcatters.
The middle round of outs began with back-to-back buckoffs for New York and Arizona. Oklahoma then turned to Clay Guiton to give the Wildcatters their first score. Delivering for the J.B. Mauney-coached team when they needed it most, Guiton rode Buckshot for 87.5 points, catapulting Oklahoma to second in the game. To conclude the frame, Nashville grew their lead to two bull scores over each of the other three teams as Anderson de Oliveira rode Ridgeway for 84.25 points.
New York found themselves in last place as the fourth began. Keeping his team’s hopes of advancement alive, Hudson Bolton catapulted the Concrete Cowboys to second on the leaderboard as he went the distance on Shameless for 86.75 points. Their aggregate score grew to 164.5 points, becoming the second team to cover multiple bulls, leading third-place Oklahoma by 77 points. While Arizona looked to Luciano De Castro to keep the squad competitive in the game, he was whipped down by Cool Whip at the 3.19-second mark, as the Ridge Riders remained last in the game. Oklahoma continued to surge as the game wound to an end. Wingson Henrique da Silva rode Whiskey Trip for 86.25 points putting the Wildcatters back in second place in the game with an aggregate score of 173.75 points, leading then third-place New York Mavericks by 9.25 points.
Nashville had a chance to clinch a berth to the PBR Teams Championship inside T-Mobile Arena at the end of the frame, but a 4.57-second buckoff from Chase Outlaw on Mr. Right Now, denied the team the early celebration.
Each team then faced a high-pressure fifth and final out.
First out was New York’s Mauricio Moreira on Outlaw, needing a qualified ride to keep their hopes of advancement alive. Moreira answered the call, making the whistle for 86.5 points to put New York back in second place with an aggregate score of 251 points, 77.25 points ahead of third-place Oklahoma. Not only did the score keep New York in the hunt for one of the two berths, but it eliminated Arizona from contention prior to the Ridge Riders attempting their final bull.
Oklahoma then found themselves in a must-ride situation of their own as their closer Bob Mitchell prepared to take on UTZ BesTex Legend. Bursting from the chutes, Mitchell initially appeared centered but was hurtled to the dirt at the 3.75-second mark. The buckoff eliminated Oklahoma from the tournament, and also clinched the two coveted berths to the PBR Teams Championship for the Nashville Stampede and New York Mavericks.
Nashville and New York both advanced via 3-for-5 efforts. Their 256.25-point and 251-point aggregate scores were unmatched by the 2-for-5 Oklahoma Wildcatters and Arizona Ridge Riders who posted combined scores of 173.75 points and 170.5 points, respectively.
The night began with the final round of the 2024 PBR Challenger Series Championship. Despite not competing at the season-ending finals, Canadian standout Cody Coverchuk (Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan, Canada) was crowned the 2024 PBR Challenger Series Champion, finishing 34 points ahead of runner-up Tetz.
Courtesy of a 2-for-2 showing, the Texas Rattlers’ Claudio Montanha Jr. (Ribeirao dos Indios, Brazil) won the 2024 PBR Challenger Series Championship event title. After toppingChateau Montelena’s Montana (Vella/Coleman/Ogden/Hart) for 86.5 points in Round 1, the affable Brazilian delivered a matching 86.5-point effort in the second round when he went the distance on High Caliber (K Star Bucking Bulls).
The opening round of the 2024 PBR Challenger Series Championship also featured the opening round of the ABBI (American Bucking Bull Inc.) World Finals.
Courtesy of their efforts on the dirt, the following 12 bulls have advanced to T-Mobile Arena, scheduled to buck Oct. 18 or Oct. 19, when they will contend for the title of ABBI Classic World Finals Event Champion and ABBI Classic World Champion: Coach (Moore/Buck/D&H Cattle), King Tut (Less Than 8 Cattle Co.), Electric Kitty (Moore/D&H Cattle), Abracadabra(Julian/D&H Cattle), Reality Check (Bull Team/Lone Star/D&H Cattle), The Intimidator (Halpain Bucking Bulls), Yahoo (Buck/D&H Cattle), Firewater (Braun Bucking Bulls), Rombauer(Copenhaver/3B Bulls/Blake Sharp), Fast Flow (Matejka/Outlaw/Lone Star/AFCO), It’s Cherry (Halpain Bucking Bulls) and Mercy (Nothin But Try Ranch/Overstreet).
The 2024 PBR Camping World Teams Championship begins with the opening round of games at 6:45 p.m. PT on Friday, October 18 at T-Mobile Arena. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at AXS.com.
The game matchups for October 18 are:
No. 3 Florida Freedom vs. No. 10 New York Mavericks
No. 4 Texas Rattlers vs. No. 7 Nashville Stampede
No. 5 Austin Gamblers vs. No. 6 Missouri Thunder
Merit Street Media and PBR+ will broadcast all the action from the opening night of the season-end tournament beginning at 10 p.m. ET.
PBR+ is a brand-new streaming subscription service offering unprecedented access to PBR & Rodeo video content, including live events, replays, and on-demand. Viewers can download the PBR+ App in the IOS and Android App Store or on AppleTV and Android TV, Roku, and Fire TV. PBR+ subscriptions are $9.99/month or $79.99/year. However, fans can enjoy a free trial until January 1, 2025, by visiting PBRplus.com.
Viewers can also watch on the Merit+ app or go to https://www.meritstreetmedia.com/channel-finder to find the Merit Street Media cable channel in their area. On-demand replays of all the PBR Teams action will be available the following day on the Merit+ app.
PBR Challenger Series
PBR Challenger Series Championship
South Point Hotel, Casino & Spa – Las Vegas, Nevada
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2- Event Aggregate-Event Points)
- Claudio Montanha Jr., 86.5-86.5-173.00-254 Points.
- Andrei Scoparo, 83.25-86.25-169.50-174 Points.
- Guilherme Valleiras, 0-88-88.00-138 Points.
- Zane Monnett, 87.5-0-87.50-102 Points.
- Alex Cerqueira, 87-0-87.00-74 Points.
- Vitor Manoel Dias, 0-86-86.00-60 Points.
- Julio Cesar Marques, 0-85.25-85.25-46 Points.
- Bob Mitchell, 84-0-84.00-40 Points.
Dustin Martinez, 0-0-0.00
Dustin Herman, 0-0-0.00
Brandon Chambers, 0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0.00
Elijah Monnett, 0-0-0.00
Elizmar Jeremias, 0-0-0.00
Cody McCandless, 0-0-0.00
Qynn Andersen, 0-0-0.00
Christian Clay Oliveira, 0-0-0.00
William Wright, 0-0-0.00
Ednélio Almeida, 0-0-0.00
Maikon Calixton Rocha, 0-0-0.00
Lance Lara, 0-0-0.00
Matt Allgood, 0-0-0.00
Jake Morinec, 0-0-0.00
Wyatt Rogers, 0-0-0.00
Eric Henrique Domingos, 0-0-0.00
Anderson de Oliveira, 0-0-0.00
Carlos André de Oliveira, 0-0-0.00
Afonso Quintino, 0-0-0.00
Alan de Souza, 0-0-0.00
Paulo Henrique da Silva, 0-0-0.00
Cleber Henrique Marques, 0-0-0.00
Emerson Lopes, 0-0-0.00
Weston Davidson, 0-0-0.00
Zane Hall, 0-0-0.00
Miguel de Jesus, 0-0-0.00
Vinicius Pinheiro Correa, 0-0-0.00
Rogério Venâncio, 0-0-0.00
Gilmar Santana, 0-0-0.00
Frederico Araujo Margarido, 0-0-0.00
Ramon Fiorini de Souza, 0-0-0.00
