PUEBLO, Colo. – The PBR Team Series MVP award goes to the rider who has the highest combined aggregate score over the course of the regular season.
The $50,000 award is straight-up results based, and the rider who finishes atop the MVP standings following Ridge Rider Days in Glendale, Arizona, on Oct. 16 will certainly be well-deserving of the payday.
Heading into Championship Sunday at Rattler Days in Fort Worth, Texas, the No. 1 rider in the MVP race is none other than two-time World Champion and Austin Gambler Jose Vitor Leme. The 26-year-old leads the PBR with 16 qualified rides and an aggregate score of 1,422 points.
Leme is no question the MVP of the third-ranked Gamblers and arguably the greatest rider in the sport alongside 2022 World Champion Daylon Swearingen, who is second in the MVP standings (15 rides | 1,319.25).
However, if the MVP decision process actually involved voting, there would be a strong case to hand the award to Derek Kolbaba.
Kolbaba is technically fifth in the MVP standings, going 12-for-24 for the Oklahoma Freedom this season with four 90-point rides and three game-winning rides at Freedom Fest. Simply put, though, the Oklahoma Freedom would not be in contention for the PBR Team Series Championship if not for Kolbaba.
The Oklahoma Freedom (14-10) are only one game out of first place in the PBR Team Series standings, and they have been a one-trick pony for the majority of the season. Kolbaba is the only rider on the Freedom to record double-digit rides for the Freedom. Eli Vastbinder and Briggs Madsen are tied for second on the team with seven qualified rides.
In comparison, the other teams in the top half of the standings – No. 1 Carolina Cowboys, No. 3 Austin Gamblers and No. 4 Arizona Ridge Riders – all have at least three riders with eight or more rides.
Team Qualified Ride Leaders
No. 1 Carolina Cowboys (14-10, 59 Bonus Points) Daylon Swearingen – 15 rides Mason Taylor – 12 rides Boudreaux Campbell – 8 rides Cooper Davis – 8 rides
No. 2 Oklahoma Freedom (14-10, 35 Bonus Points) Derek Kolbaba – 12 rides Eli Vastbinder – 7 rides Briggs Madsen – 7 rides
No. 3 Austin Gamblers (13-11, 49.5 Bonus Points) Jose Vitor Leme – 16 rides Ramon de Lima – 10 rides (7 with Austin | 3 with Carolina) Ezekiel Mitchell – 8 rides
No. 4 Arizona Ridge Riders (12-11-1, 26 Bonus Points) Luciano de Castro – 13 rides Alisson de Souza – 10 rides Eduardo Aparecido – 10 rides
The Top 2 teams in the final regular-season standings following Ridge Rider Days will receive a first-round bye for the 2022 PBR Team Series Championship on Nov. 4-6 in Las Vegas.
That is what made Oklahoma’s 351-90.75 victory over Arizona so important on Saturday night at Dickies Arena. Getting a head-to-head win over another top team could be the difference between getting that first-round bye or not.
There are only four regular-season games left before the postseason and seven of the eight teams in the league are separated by only two games. The only team not in contention for the No. 1 seed is No. 8 Nashville, who dropped to 5-18-1 Saturday night with their 364.75-177.5 loss to Austin.
The Freedom are now tied with Carolina for the best record in the league (14-10), and Saturday was Oklahoma’s best performance of the season.
Oklahoma rode four of five bulls, getting contributions from Vastbinder (87.5 points on First Down), Trevor Reiste (84.75 points on The Punisher), Kolbaba (92 points on Soul Train) and Briggs Madsen (86.75 points on Mike’s Effect).
Kolbaba’s season-high 92 points clinched the Freedom its 14th victory of the year and is the fifth-best ride of his career. It is his highest score since he rode HomeBru for 92.5 points during Round 6 of the 2021 PBR World Finals.
The Freedom will attempt to take over sole possession of first place Sunday when they take on Carolina at Rattler Days (6 p.m. ET CBS Sports Network). Carolina may not be at full strength for the game either, as Swearingen missed Carolina’s 177.25-171.5 loss to Texas Saturday night because of a concussion. Oklahoma has been without Chase Outlaw this weekend, as Outlaw has been tending to a personal matter with his family.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Josh Homer/Bull Stock Media