PUEBLO, Colo. – The PBR Team Series is officially in the books, but bull riding fans will not have to wait long at all for the start of the PBR’s elite individual season – the Unleash The Beast.

The 2023 Unleash The Beast season opener is set for Nov. 26-27 in Tucson, Arizona, with the Monster Energy Invitational.

Now that the inaugural 2022 PBR Team Series is over, the list of qualifiers for the first four Unleash The Beast events has been finalized.

Here are the criteria the PBR used to determine its list of riders who are qualified for the first four 2023 PBR premier series (UTB) events – Tucson, St. Louis, Minneapolis and Manchester.

• All PBR World Champions who competed in at least one 2022 UTB event and/or qualified for the 2022 PBR World Finals.

• The Top 15 individuals from the 2022 PBR Team Series Rider Standings who are not already qualified through PBR World Champion status. The Top-15 was determined by the cumulative ride scores of individual riders across all outs at PBR Team Series Events, including Bonus Rounds and PBR Team Series Championship events during the season.

• The Top 5 riders from the 2022 PBR Challenger Series Championship Standings, who are not already qualified through the above criteria, will earn qualification. For clarity, if one of the Top 5 riders in the Challenger Championship Standings is already qualified, the rider ranked No. 6 will then get the position, etc.

• The two highest-ranking riders who finished in the Top 40 in the 2022 PBR world standings who also competed in the previous year’s PBR World Finals and are not already qualified through any of the above scenarios.

• Eight riders selected by their respective teams from the year-end active rosters.

• Any remaining positions will be filled with a maximum of 10 additional riders based on the PBR Team Series cumulative ride score standings, who must have finished in the Top 40 in the previous year’s PBR world standings and/or competed in the previous year’s PBR World Finals.

2023 Unleash The Beast qualifiers to start the season

Jose Vitor Leme (World Champion) Daylon Swearingen (World Champion) Kaique Pacheco (World Champion) Cooper Davis (World Champion) Ednei Caminhas (World Champion) Silvano Alves (World Champion) Jess Lockwood (World Champion) Marcus Mast (Team Standings) Luciano de Castro (Team Standings) Derek Kolbaba (Team Standings) Adriano Salgado (Team Standings) Mason Taylor (Team Standings) Eduardo Aparecido (Team Standings) Alisson de Souza (Team Standings) Andrew Alvidrez (Team Standings) Dalton Kasel (Team Standings) Ramon de Lima (Team Standings) Cody Jesus (Team Standings) Joao Ricardo Vieira (Team Standings) Daniel Keeping (Team Standings) Lucas Divino (Team Standings) Boudreaux Campbell (Team Standings) Keyshawn Whitehorse (Challenger Series Championship Standings) Sandro Batista (Challenger Series Championship Standings) Wyatt Rogers (Challenger Series Championship Standings) Rafael Jose de Brito (Challenger Series Championship Standings) Jesse Petri (Challenger Series Championship Standings) Mauricio Moreira (Top 2 from 2022 world standings not qualified) Eli Vastbinder (Top 2 from 2022 world standings not qualified) Joao Henrique Lucas (Nashville Stampede) Braidy Randolph (Texas Rattlers) Briggs Madsen (Oklahoma Freedom) Colten Fritzlan (Missouri Thunder) Koltin Hevalow (Kansas City Outlaws) Wingson da Silva (Carolina Cowboys) Dakota Louis (Austin Gamblers) Vitor Losnake (Arizona Ridge Riders) Bob Mitchell (Up to an additional 10 Team Standings) Ezekiel Mitchell (Up to an additional 10 Team Standings) Rafael Henrique dos Santos (Up to an additional 10 Team Standings)

Riders with 4 Injury Exemptions Chase Outlaw Brady Oleson Kyler Oliver Clayton Sellars Fernando Henrique Novais Marcelo Procopio Pereira Junior Patrik Souza Dener Barbosa Chase Dougherty Cole Melancon Manoelito de Souza

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media