PUEBLO, Colo. – The PBR World Finals is the Super Bowl of professional bull riding, and the changes made to the world points system this week by the PBR’s Competition Committee reiterate that.
The PBR announced on Wednesday improvements to the world standings points system for the 2020 season, and one big change will be that the percentage of points from the PBR World Finals will increase by 4.3% compared to 2019.
First off, though, the 2020 points system will be similar to the one that fans have grown accustomed to since the PBR made a major switch in 2015. World points earned at an Unleash The Beast event will still determine an event winner instead of pure aggregate / ride scores, and ride scores will not count directly toward the world standings.
The best recipe for a World Championship will remain the same in 2020 – riders that win rounds and events at the highest level of professional bull riding will continue to have the best odds at winning a world title.
RELATED: View the new world points system HERE
The most noticeable change is that the 2020 points system will use smaller world point totals than fans saw in 2019.
The new points system approved by the PBR Competition Committee simplifies the current format by reducing the number of points available proportionally across all territories and tours.
This will make the points easier to calculate and track – in rounds, full event finishes, and the world championship race – and will provide more riders the potential opportunity to earn points.
One small example is an Unleash The Beast round win in 2019 was 100 points compared to that number being 20 in 2020
However, don’t take the smaller numbers as a sense that there are less points available.
Ultimately, more riders may remain in contention for World Championship later into the season under this new system compared to previous seasons.
Essentially one world point in the 2020 scoring system is the equivalent to roughly 4 points in the points system from 2015-2019.
Below is a look at some of the changes for 2020 that may affect the 2020 world title race.
THE STAKES OF THE WORLD FINALS ARE A LITTLE BIT GREATER
In 2019, eight percent of the total world points earned in the world standings were awarded at the 2019 PBR World Finals. In 2020, that percentage increases to 12 percent.
The changes for 2020 across the PBR ecosystem will likely keep more riders in contention for a World Championship compared to previous seasons. Think of the NFL expanding the number of teams in the playoffs, essentially the PBR potentially has increased the possibility for more riders to remain in contention for a World Championship at the Finals.
For a rider to have a realistic shot at winning the 2020 World Championship, a rider will likely have to be within 650 points of the world No. 1 ranking compared to the 2,000-point mark often referred to in the old system.
However, a rider within 800 points of the world No. 1 ranking could also remain in contention with a victory at the World Finals, but he would need some major help from his opponents stubbing their toes inside T-Mobile Arena.
RELATED: Get your tickets for the 2020 World Finals
The 2019 World Championship race would have featured four riders (Jose Vitor Leme, Jess Lockwood, Chase Outlaw and Joao Ricardo Vieira) within 650 points of each other at the start of the World Finals, whereas the 2018 race would have had seven riders (Kaique Pacheco, Jose Vitor Leme, Luciano de Castro, Cooper Davis, Claudio Montanha Jr., Cody Teel and Ramon de Lima) within 650 points or less.
The slight addition of more points at the World Finals will give some of those dark horse champion contenders a little bit more hope when the Finals begin on Nov. 4.
A rider can earn a maximum of 1,040 world points at the 2020 PBR World Finals by winning every round (80 points per round) and the event average (560 points).
Winning the World Finals event average in 2020 will be the equivalent to accumulating five wins on the Unleash The Beast (see below for what the average Unleash The Beast winner will earn in points this coming season).
The last seven PBR World Finals event winners would have earned an average of 756 points toward the world standings in the new points system.
2019 World Champion Jess Lockwood would have picked up 772 world points at this past Finals and still won the world title over Jose Vitor Leme.
In fact, none of the previous World Champions from 2013-2019 would have changed under the new system in data provided by the PBR competition department.
Ultimately, the 2020 points system is going to treat the World Finals like the Super Bowl. The Super Bowl champion may not always be the best team in the regular season, just ask the 2007 New England Patriots.
The 2020 PBR World Champion will need to perform at the PBR World Finals, just as the World Champions have in the previous points system since 2015.
The World Finals will now reward points further down in the rounds, and in the aggregate, compared to 2019. Riders that place in the Top 15 in a round or aggregate will earn world points compared to 10 in 2019.
Most of these point positions, both in the rounds and aggregate, are of a higher percentage than 2019.
For example, Jared Parsonage would have finished 10th overall at the 2019 World Finals, instead of 17th, in the 2020 points system with his 4-for-6 performance.
15/15 BUCKING BATTLES CARRY MORE WEIGHT IN 2020
The 15/15 Bucking Battles have always been a bonus round for the top World Champion contenders to make up ground in the world standings or extend their lead.
2019 World Champion Jess Lockwood won a PBR-record four 15/15 Bucking Battles this past season. He also went 7-for-8 for 707.5 world points (2019 system), which is important considering he defeated Jose Vitor Leme by 852.51 points.
The 15/15 Bucking Battle will remain important in 2020 with a 2% increase in world points compared to the older system.
15/15 Bucking Battle winners will now earn more world points (50) than riders who win a Velocity Tour event (maximum possibility of 44 points for two-round event). This was not the case in 2019.
A 2020 15/15 Bucking Battle winner will earn 50 world points, which is the equivalent to 50% of a three-day UTB event average win and 62.5% of a two-day UTB event average win.
In 2019, a 15/15 Bucking Battle would be worth 30% of a three-day UTB event average victory and 37.5% of a two-day UTB event average win.
Finishing third in a 2020 15/15 Bucking Battle will earn a rider more points than placing Top-3 in the event average at a UTB event.
Of course, there will be many more Unleash The Beast events in 2020 than 15/15 Bucking Battles, but success in a 15/15 Bucking Battle will impact the top riders in the world standings, and most likely the world title race.
DEEPER ROUND POINTS AVAILABLE ON UNLEASH THE BEAST
In 2020, Unleash The Beast rounds will pay out world points to the Top 11 finishers compared to Top 7 in 2019. The 2020 event aggregate will only offer world points to the Top 11 compared to Top 15 in 2019.
These points available will help some bull riders who previously had not earned points in a round because their rides were scored in the mid- to lower-round standings.
With the points weighted higher in the 5-11th place range, it also improves a rider’s chances of placing in the average for a paying position at a UTB event.
The 2020 system should allow riders seeded on the Unleash The Beast at the start of the season to receive more relative points for “middle of the pack” performance compared to prior years.
VELOCITY TOUR ADDS POINTS FOR CHAMPIONSHIP ROUNDS IN SLIGHT CHANGE; TPD VICTORIES WORTH MORE
The Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour was a game changer in 2019, playing a major role in 15 riders qualifying for their first PBR World Finals.
While the amount of points a 2020 Velocity Tour event average winner receives (30 points) will be a little bit smaller than 2019 (37.5% compared to two-day UTB event average vs. 42.5% in 2019), a rider can make up that difference via round points.
2020 will feature the Velocity Tour offering championship round points at regular-season events toward the world standings for the first time in PBR history.
Regardless, a rider that sweeps a Velocity Tour event by winning both rounds and the event average in 2020 will earn the same percentage of points that he did in 2019 on the Velocity Tour.
The PBR will also still offer an automatic UTB event exemption to each Velocity Tour event winner.
A Touring Pro Division event victory will be worth 15 points this season, which is 50% of a Velocity Tour event aggregate win. In 2019, TPD wins were only worth 35.29% of a Velocity Tour aggregate win.
Therefore, we may see more top riders compete in TPD events in 2020 to pick up additional points toward the world standings.
SO WHAT DOES AN EVENT WINNER ON AVERAGE WIN AT SELECT EVENTS IN THIS SYSTEM
Here is a simple look at how event winners will calculate world points on average in 2020, per data provided by the PBR competition department.
Average points for 1st place finisher at a 2-day UTB event: 111
Average points for 1st place finisher at a 3-day UTB event: 132
Average points for 1st place finisher at a Velocity Tour event: 39
PBR MAJORS ARE STILL VASTLY IMPORTANT FOR WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP
The last four PBR World Champions have won a PBR Major during their title-winning seasons, and winning a PBR Major – New York, Iron Cowboy, Last Cowboy Standing or the Music City Knockout – will once again prove highly beneficial in a rider’s pursuit of championship.
A rider can earn a maximum of 270 world points at the season-opening Monster Energy Buck Off at the Garden (Jan. 3-5), which is a little bit more than the average amount of points earned for winning two Unleash The Beast events.
INTERNATIONAL EVENTS WILL BE SIMILAR TO VELOCITY TOUR, MINUS ROUND POINTS
Riders looking to qualify for the PBR World Finals will have a slightly harder time in 2020 if they choose to compete only internationally with the changes to the Unleash The Beast and Velocity Tour.
However, the international points are calibrated to be equivalent to the U.S. tours. For example, an international cup event average win will be worth 30 world points in 2020, which is the same as a Velocity Tour victory. The primary difference is that there will not be round points offered at the international level. How many international events that will be classified as international cup events in 2020 may also impact the world standings.
Riders such as Aaron Kleier, Brady Fielder, Jared Parsonage and Cliff Richardson were all ranked inside the Top 40 before the 2019 World Finals thanks in large part to their success internationally. Under the new system, only Kleier would have been ranked inside the Top 40 of the world standings before the World Finals.
However, Fielder (40), Parsonage (41) and Richardson (44) would still have be close enough based on their success in PBR Australia or PBR Canada that they would still have likely been alternates for the Unleash The Beast. A few rides on the UTB, or even at some Velocity Tour and TPD events, would help them make their way to the World Finals once again in 2020.
There will also still be the international wild card spot available at the 2020 Velocity Finals for the top international riders in PBR Australia, PBR Brazil, PBR Canada and PBR Mexico to pursue in hopes of qualifying for the 2020 World Finals.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
