PUEBLO, Colo. – Championship Weekend of the Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by U.S. Border Patrol, is one day away, and the first round of the playoffs begins Friday night at the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center.

Fans in attendance, as well as those watching on CBS Sports Network and RidePass, will see two marquee matchups on Friday night with Team Las Vegas (4-2) vs. Team Boot Barn (3-2-1) and Team Ariat (4-1-1) vs. Team Can-Am (3-3).

The competition format for the playoff games is a little bit different from the regular season with three riders per team attempting two bulls per game, and a fourth rider getting on one bull. The winning team will be the team with the highest aggregate score on seven rides.

The losers of the two wild card games will then compete in a consolation game Friday night with all four riders per team attempting to ride one bull.

Today, PBR.com takes a look at the Team Las Vegas vs. Team Boot Barn matchup.

Team Las Vegas vs. Team Boot Barn (Friday, 9 p.m. ET)

Record: 4-2 | 3-2-1
Division Finish: 2 | 3
Rides: 9 | 9
Attempts: 36 | 36
Riding Percentage: 25% | 25%
Aggregate Score: 776.75 | 748.25
Average Score Per Game: 129.46 | 124.71
Average Ride Score: 86.31 | 83.14
Team Las Vegas Riders: Stetson Wright, Chase Dougherty, Garrett Smith and Brady Portenier. GM: Ty Murray
Team Boot Barn Riders: Daylon Swearingen, Andrew Alvidrez, Braden Richardson, J.C. Mortensen. GM: J.B. Mauney

REG. SEASON SCOREBOARD

Team Las Vegas
Team Las Vegas: 88.25, Team YETI: 0 (W)
Team Las Vegas: 257, Team Union Home Mortgage: 85.25 (W)
Team Las Vegas: 174.75, Team Wrangler: 0 (W)
Team Las Vegas: 84.5, Team Cooper Tires: 259.25 (L)
Team Las Vegas: 172.25, Team Can-Am: 89.25 (W)
Team Las Vegas: 0, Team Cooper Tires: 259 (L)

Team Boot Barn
Team Boot Barn: 169, Team Cat: 83.75 (W)
Team Boot Barn: 86, Team Pendleton Whisky: 161.25 (L)
Team Boot Barn: 0, Team South Point: 172.5 (L)
Team Boot Barn: 254.50, Team Lucas Oil: 167.75 (W)
Team Boot Barn: 86.75, Team Ariat: 86.75 (T)
Team Boot Barn: 152, Team South Point: 0 (W)

QUICK ANALYSIS

This game could very much be dubbed the rodeo throwdown with Team Las Vegas and Team Boot Barn featuring some bull riders who have had relative success in the PRCA, including 2019 All-Around World Champion Stetson Wright, 2018 National Finals Rodeo bull riding event average winner Chase Dougherty and Daylon Swearingen.

This game is a tossup on paper. Each team went only 9-for-36 in divisional play, but Team Las Vegas did average 86.31 points per ride compared to Team Boot Barn’s 83.14.

One thing to note with Team Boot Barn, though, is that it did not have Andrew Alvidrez for the first weekend of Divisional B play. Alvidrez (3-for-5) was a sparkplug for Team Boot Barn and helped the team finish 2-0-1 and sneak into the playoffs.

Team Boot Barn is stronger now than when it started the METC on June 19.

Captain Daylon Swearingen was lighting things up on the rodeo trail recently, picking up two victories and a second-place finish during the Cowboy Christmas run. Swearingen went 3-for-6, riding Scruffy for 87 points to win the Oakley Independence Day Rodeo and Reality Check for 84.5 points in Prescott, Arizona, to earn a share of the bull riding victory.

Team Las Vegas was a feisty squad that went 4-2 and only lost to Team Cooper Tires in Division A play. It was a group effort with Wright, Dougherty and Garrett Smith all notching three qualified rides apiece.

Rust shouldn’t be a factor for Team Las Vegas, either, with the team having hit the rodeo trail pretty hard since the end of Division A play on June 14. The team went a combined 9-for-21 in PRCA competition, highlighted by Smith’s victory at the Black Hills Roundup. Smith rode Bear Claw for 89.5 points at the Belle Fourche, South Dakota, rodeo. Brady Portenier was also victorious, winning the rodeo in Mandan, North Dakota, with an 88-point ride on Humdinger.

BEST GAME

Team Las Vegas: After squeaking out its first win with only one qualified ride from Stetson Wright, Team Las Vegas rebounded in its second game by going 3-for-6 in a 257-85.25 win over Team Union Home Mortgage.

Garrett Smith went 2-for-2 and Chase Dougherty clinched the victory with his 86.5-point ride on Jungle Can Do.

Smith set the tone for Team Las Vegas by giving it an early 83.5-point lead with his ride on CopperPoint to begin the game.

The ride wound up being the only one for either team in the first half, and then Smith smashed his foot on the gas pedal in Round 2 by riding Diamond Willow for 87 points, giving Vegas a two-ride lead.

It was the only game Team Las Vegas recorded three qualified rides.

Team Boot Barn: Andrew Alvidrez made sure to make up for lost time when he went 2-for-2 in his METC debut as Boot Barn defeated Team Lucas Oil 254.50-167.75 in game that shifted Boot Barn’s playoff fortunes.

Alvidrez began with 87 points on Heartaches & Grease before riding Red Snapper for 83 points.

Boot Barn improved to 2-2 instead of falling to 1-3, and it was the beginning of Boot Barn’s late surge to the postseason on the final weekend of Division B.

MEET THE CAPTAINS

Team Las Vegas: Stetson Wright went 3-for-12 in Division A play, but two of those rides were for game victories. The 2019 PRCA All-Around champion rode Big Black Cat for 88.25 points to deliver his team an 88.25-0 Division A-opening win over Team YETI. Wright then led Team Las Vegas to a 172.25-89.25 victory over Team Can-Am with an 86-point ride on All It Takes. As of Thursday morning, Wright is leading the Dinosaur Roundup Rodeo with an 83-point ride.

Team Boot Barn: With the postseason on the line, someone had to step up for Team Boot Barn or Team South Point with the final playoff spot up for grabs on the last day of the regular season.

Fittingly, it was Team Boot Barn’s captain Daylon Swearingen putting his teammates on his back, going 2-for-2 and was the only rider to reach the 8-second mark in the must-win game.

Swearingen (5-for-12 at the METC) also had the winning ride (82.5 points on Rocket) in the team’s 169-83.75-point victory over Team Cat.

The 20-year-old led Team Boot Barn in Division B play with a 5-for-12 performance.

UNSUNG HEROS

Team Las Vegas: Garrett Smith went 2-for-2 in Team Las Vegas’ second victory, a 257-85.25 win over Team Union Home Mortgage. Smith began the game with 83.5 points on CopperPoint before riding Diamond Willow for 87 points. The 2017 CPRA was 3-for-10 in Division A play.

Team Boot Barn: Andrew Alvidrez had to miss the first weekend of competition, but once he was added back onto Team Boot Barn he did not disappoint. Alvidrez went 3-for-5 as Team Boot Barn went 2-0-1 after his addition to the roster.

Alvidrez has been rehabbing his sore left groin under the virtual tutelage of PBR Sports Performance Executive Director Antwon Burton, and the 2020 Rookie of the Year contender says he feels ready for the postseason.

X-Factor

Team Las Vegas: 2018 NFR bull riding event average winner Chase Dougherty is 3-for-10 at the METC, but he has been rounding back into form since undergoing season-ending right shoulder surgery last fall. Doughtery finished in sixth-place at the Rocksprings, Texas, TPD event last month and went 3-for-6on the rodeo trail recently. As of Thursday morning, he was leading the rodeo in Weatherford, Texas, with an 86.5-point ride on Shagga. Team Las Vegas will need Dougherty at his absolute best this weekend. 

Team Boot Barn: Braden Richardson went 1-for-9 in Division B play, but he arrives in Sioux Falls after tying with Swearingen for the PRCA victory in Oakley City, Utah, courtesy of his 87-point ride on Big Easy.

NOTEWORTHY STAT:

Team Las Vegas: Posted the second-best record in Division A (4-2) despite having the fourth-best team aggregate total (776.75).

Team Boot Barn: Has the lowest aggregate total of playoff bound teams – 748.25. However, Boot Barn averaged 164.25 points per game in its final three games after beginning Division B with an 85-point average in its first three games.

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko