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.
Carolina Cowboys: 175
Austin Gamblers: 0
Fielding the same starting lineup that covered a league-leading six bulls at the season-launch event in Cheyenne, Wyoming, the Carolina Cowboys shut out the Austin Gamblers to earn the team’s second victory during the opening round of games in Kansas City, Missouri.
Seeking early momentum, Head Coach Jerome Davis positioned his first two draft picks at the top of the lineup as the first two riders out for the Carolina outfit. 2022 PBR World Champion Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York), first to leave the chute for the Cowboys, matched Apper’s Mind Freak (Jo-Z Bucking Bulls/K-C Bucking Bulls/Spark-Lin Acres) jump-for-jump, giving his team an early 87.25-0 lead. Swearingen has been the most consistent force for the Cowboys, having yet to buck off a bull in regular-season PBR Team Series competition, now 4-0.
After Alex Marcilio (Macaubal, Brazil) was bucked off by Surprise Package (Clay Struve/Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger), Mason Taylor (Maypearl, Texas) was the next to climb into the chutes for the Cowboys in the game’s second frame, locked in a rubber match with Casper (Crescent City Bucking Bulls/Lari Crane/Gene Owen). Taylor took the lead in his rivalry with his bovine athlete opponent, and his game-best 87.75-point score put the Cowboys up 175-0.
As the Cowboys celebrated, Claudio Montanha Jr. (Pacaembu, Brazil) hoped to turn the tide for the Gamblers. However, despite a gritty effort, Montanha was bucked off by Hawkeye (Jane Clark/Gene Owen), and the Texas outfit remained scoreless. Following buckoffs from both teams in their third outs, the game came down to Wingson Henrique da Silva (Navirai, Brazil) for the Cowboys and Lucas Divino (Nova Crixas, Brazil) for the Gamblers. After Silva could not clinch the victory outright, bested by Kid Knapper (Phillips/Cooper/Scruggs Bucking Bulls), the Gamblers were in a must-ride situation as Divino climbed aboard Dark Fantasy (Paradigm Bull Company).
Divino appeared to be on the cusp of delivering a crucial ride, but he was slammed down in a heartbreaking 7.42 seconds, handing the Carolina team their second game win of the season. In the final frame of the game, both the Cowboys’ Leonardo Lima (Vale do Paraiso, Brazil) and the Gamblers’ Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil) came down short of the whistle, with the final scoreboard reading a 175-0 Cowboys victory.
As PBR Outlaw Days continues Saturday, August 6, the Cowboys (2-1) will face the winless Ariat Texas Rattlers (0-3), while the Gamblers (1-2) will play the Cheyenne event-winning Missouri Thunder (2-1).
“It’s a good way to start it off. There’s two more nights of it, so we’re going to just keep the momentum, I hope, rolling,” said Head Coach Jerome Davis. “Two more nights; see if we can bring it home at the end.”
“I know this whole team can do their job, and tonight just started off right,” added Carolina Cowboys’ Daylon Swearingen.