KANSAS CITY, Mo. – At the first team-hosted PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Team Series event in Kansas City, Missouri, the starting lineups for the groundbreaking new sport’s league showed up and showed out. In four thrilling games, two were decided in the final frame.
The Kansas City Outlaws, hosts of PBR Outlaw Days, mounted an impressive, final-frame surge but were unable to defeat the Arizona Ridge Riders despite two re-ride attempts by Marcus Mast.
In a stunning upset, the Oklahoma Freedom, led by a walk-off score from Captain Eli Vastbinder, beat the then-undefeated Missouri Thunder to log the team’s first win.
The Carolina Cowboys improved to 2-1 as they shut out the Austin Gamblers. Continuing to lead the Richard Childress Racing-operated team, 2022 PBR World Champion Daylon Swearingen improved to a perfect 4-0 in PBR Team Series competition as the first rider to strike for the outfit.
The first game of PBR Outlaw Days was won by the Nashville Stampede. Backed by a game-best score from first-round draft pick and 2018 PBR World Champion Kaique Pacheco, the Stampede dealt the Ariat Texas Rattlers their third consecutive loss.
PBR Outlaw Days continues Saturday, August 6 at 6:45 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased online at AXS.com, T-MobileCenter.com and PBR.com, or by calling PBR customer service at 1-800-732-1727.
Accompanying the main event, the Outlaws will also hold a Street Festival on Grand Blvd. from East 14th to East 13th Street starting at noon CT on Saturday, August 6.
The roaming performers for the Outlaw Days Street Festival include trick roper Rudy Uresti, power couple musicians Team Ragoza, magicians Yani and Joe “The Mystical Misfits,” world-class fiddle player Derek Pell and local dance company Empire Dance Academy.
Additionally, the Outlaws will hold post-event, free-to-attend concerts nightly at KC Live! in the Power & Light District. DJ Brian Dawe will perform beginning at 10 p.m. CT on Saturday, August 6, while Lit will perform Sunday, August 7, starting at 2:30 p.m. CT. Guests must be 21+ to enter KC Live! after 9 p.m.
These musical acts join the already announced Outlaw Days Concert on August 6, scheduled for 1:30 p.m. and including performances by David Nail, David Lee Murphy and Josh Abbott Band.
PBR RidePass on Pluto TV will offer replays of all the PBR Team Series action from Kansas City, Missouri. Check https://pluto.tv/en/live-tv/pbr-ridepass for the latest programming schedule.
Arizona Ridge Riders: 170.5
Kansas City Outlaws: 80.25
As the opening night of games for PBR Outlaw Days wound to a close, fans were treated to the most anticipated showdown when the Arizona Ridge Riders faced host Kansas City Outlaws in a dramatic contest decided by the final outs. Despite a marathon effort by the Outlaws’ Marcus Mast (Middlebury, Indiana) in which he attempted two re-ride bulls, the Ridge Riders upset the hometown favorites, winning 170.5-80.25.
As the game got underway, the Kansas City crowd was boisterous in supporting the city’s first-ever bull riding team. However, despite the roar of the crowd, Ridge Riders’ Alisson De Souza (Taubate, Brazil) was cool under pressure, converting in the first out of the game aboard Off Campus (Dakota Rodeo/Brian & Ashley Pintar/Clay Struve/Chad Berger) to give his team an early 87-point lead. In his team’s debut out in Kansas City, Rafael Henrique dos Santos (Sebastianopolis, Brazil) was unable to reach the 8 for the Outlaws, brought down in 3.64 seconds by Taking Chances (Frihauf Cattle Co.).
However, in the second round of outs, the Outlaws began to shift the momentum. On the spurs of a Ridge Riders’ buckoff by Marco Eguchi (Poa, Brazil), Missouri native Koltin Hevalow (Smithville, Missouri) became the first rider since January to cover Big Mac (Shuler Bucking Bulls), putting the Outlaws on the board with an 80.25-point score.
After consecutive buckoffs for both teams in their subsequent two outs, the game came down to the final rider for each team. The Ridge Riders’ fate rested in the hands of first-round draft pick Luciano De Castro (Guzolandia, Brazil), while free agent Mast had the chance to deliver an Outlaw victory in their debut game in T-Mobile Center. Rising to the occasion, Castro expanded his team’s lead to 90.25 points as he covered Arkansas (D&H Cattle/Winston) for a crucial 83.5 points.
While Mast delivered a qualified ride of 77.75 points aboard Cowboy Cool (Pate/D&H Cattle), he was awarded a must-take re-ride to keep their hopes of a win alive. Initially drawing Figure 8 (Paradigm Bull Company), Mast was awarded his second re-ride after he was unable to leave the chutes. For his third animal athlete opponent of the evening, Mast readied to go head-to-head with Norse God (Jane Clark/Gene Owen), a bull capable of giving Mast the event-winning 90.50-point score. As the chute gate burst open, Mast appeared in control of the Canadian-born bovine but was brought down in 5.75 seconds, sealing the win for the Ridge Riders.
When Outlaw Days continues Saturday, the Outlaws (1-2) will look to rebound against the Nashville Stampede (2-1), while the Ridge Riders (2-1) will look to continue their winning ways when they play the Oklahoma Freedom (1-2).
“It’s a great game, a great opportunity for us to enjoy this new format,” said Arizona Ridge Riders Technical Coach Paulo Crimber. “It’s amazing. I feel like I’m riding again, and so is Colby Yates, my co-coach. The whole team is just amazing. We were very proud to have Luciano and Alisson do a great job, and I think we are going to do better tomorrow. Alisson has started every game, and he’s been successful almost every one of them. Luciano’s in the game and has been strong like that. I think it’s important to start good and finish even stronger - that’s the guys who can get it done.”
“It’s like the home-field advantage anywhere, and we’re not going to think of it as any different,’ said Kansas City Outlaws Head Coach J.W. Hart. “We know we’ve got our fans behind us; Marcus knows the fans are behind him. He knows his team is behind him. He’s still got a job to do, but this is what I told him – we’ve been practicing for this moment for four months. Marcus is my guy.”