PUEBLO, Colo. – It should come as no surprise that the PBR Team Series $50,000 MVP award is coming down to the last two PBR World Champions.

The MVP award is given to the rider who finishes the PBR Team Series with the highest individual aggregate score during the regular season. There are five riders mathematically still alive for the award heading into this coming weekend’s regular-season finale in Glendale, Arizona – Ridge Rider Days – but it ultimately is down to two heavy hitters and a few underdogs.

Two-time World Champion Jose Vitor Leme, the Austin Gamblers (13-12) captain is leading the MVP race with a 17-for-22 (77.3%) campaign.

2022 World Champion Daylon Swearingen is right on his heels with a 15-for-25 (60%) performance for the Carolina Cowboys.

Each rider has three outs remaining, and potentially one more if their teams use them in Sunday’s Bonus Round.

Swearingen is 191.25 points behind Leme, so he is essentially three rides behind unless he were to post two 95.75-point rides.

MVP Standings 1. Jose Vitor Leme – 17 rides | 1,510.5 2. Daylon Swearingen – 15 rides | -191.25 3. Luciano de Castro – 14 rides | -303 4. Derek Kolbaba – 13 rides | -360.75 5. Marcus Mast – 13 rides | -392.75

Meanwhile, Arizona Ridge Riders first-round draft choice Luciano de Castro is also still in the mix with a 14-for-28 (50%) showing for this coming weekend’s host team. Castro is 303 points behind, so he will need to go 4-for-4 and not have Leme record a single qualified ride inside Desert Diamond Arena.

No. 4 Derek Kolbaba (Oklahoma) would need to go 4-for-4 and average 90.19 points per ride, while No. 5 Marcus Mast (Kansas City) needs to be perfect as well and average 98.19 points per ride.

Both Kolbaba and Mast would also need Leme to stay rideless this weekend, therefore, the race is essentially Leme’s to lose, which is never a good thing for his opponents.

Leme has roared to life in the PBR Team Series following his crushing loss at winning a third consecutive World Championship this spring. The 26-year-old is riding at a blistering 77.3% clip in Teams thanks to coach Michael Gaffney being able to match the two-time Champion with bulls that are likely to spin into Leme’s wheelhouse.

If Leme is to win the MVP title, it would be fitting too outside of the individual aggregate. The Gamblers are 2-5 without Leme in the lineup and 11-7 with him. Leme has only bucked off three times in 18 game appearances.

The Austin Gamblers (13-12) take on the Nashville Stampede (5-19-1) Friday in Glendale (10:45 p.m. ET).

The Gamblers begin the weekend a mere two games behind league-leading Oklahoma and 1.5 games behind No. 2 Carolina.

When Championship Sunday at Ridge Rider Days concludes, the Top 2 teams will receive a first-round bye for the 2022 PBR Team Series Championship in Las Vegas on Nov. 4-6.

Every team has three games left on its schedule.

Below is a refresher on the PBR Team Series Championship postseason format.

All eight teams qualify for the PBR Team Series Championship in Las Vegas. The top two teams in the regular-season standings earn first-round byes. 

The playoffs are the same five-on-five, head-to-head format fans see during the regular season. Two teams will be eliminated from the playoffs each day. The first two rounds of competition will feature a “Last Chance” playoff game for teams who lost their first game earlier in the night.

First Round (Nov. 4)

Regular-Season No. 3 seed vs. Regular-Season No. 8 seed Regular-Season No. 4 seed vs. Regular-Season No. 7 seed Regular-Season No. 5 seed vs. Regular-Season No. 6 seed Last Chance: 3-way last chance game (Three teams who lost in the above games compete; best team score on five rides advances to second round)

Second Round (Nov. 5)

Regular-Season No. 1 seed vs. lowest remaining seed Regular-Season No. 2 seed vs. second-lowest remaining seed No. 3 highest remaining seed vs. No. 4 highest remaining seed Last Chance: 3-way last chance game (Three teams who lost in the above games compete; best team score on five rides advances to semifinals)

Semifinals / Championship Game (Nov. 6)

Top remaining seed vs. lowest remaining seed (Winner advances to championship game) Second top remaining seed vs. third top remaining seed (Winner advances to championship game) 3^rd Place Game: Loser of Game 1 above vs. Loser of Game 2 above Championship Game: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

Photo courtesy of Todd Brewer/Bull Stock Media