When the 2023 PBR Unleash The Beast season began in Tucson, Arizona, a new points system debuted, making the premier series even more important for determining the next World Champion while simplifying the points structure across all PBR tours.

The biggest change is a move away from the traditional world standings, which encompassed all tours, and transitioning the world standings to be tracked strictly by elite series points.

The 2023 World Champion will now be the rider who earns the most points only at Unleash The Beast events, including at the 2023 PBR World Finals on May 12-14 and 18-21 in Fort Worth, Texas.

In practical terms for fans following the gold buckle race, by going 3-for-3 including a clutch 90.75-point trip in the championship round to win the Monster Energy Invitational in Tucson, Brady Oleson collected 133 points. Heading into St. Louis, he leads in No. 2 Thiago Salgado in the world title race by 32.5 points.

There will be three PBR series in the U.S. in action for the first half of 2023: Unleash the Beast (Nov. 26-May 26), Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour (Nov. 19-May 6), and Touring Pro Division (Nov. 4-May 6.). Points accumulated in non-UTB events and PBR’s international tours will be tallied as Velocity Global points. 

Velocity Global points, which will also be used to crown the 2023 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour champion, will be the essential currency for determining the athletes who can earn a future draw spot at the top UTB tour following the first four Unleash The Beast events of the season.

Those with the most Velocity Global points during their past four Velocity Global events will join the UTB, replacing riders who had fallen to the bottom of the pack during select cuts every two weeks of the 2023 Unleash The Beast season. The first rider cut takes place after the fourth UTB event in Manchester, New Hampshire (Dec. 17-18).

Riders ranked in the No. 36-40 range in the UTB standings will be subject to being cut, and the top five riders on the Premier Series Qualifier List, based on Velocity Global points, will take their place in the sport’s top series to make up the 40-rider field heading into Albany, New York (Dec. 29-30). Riders ranked No. 1-35 on the UTB will remain on the tour.

“We always want to give the world’s best bull riders the chance to compete in the elite PBR Unleash The Beast,” said Sean Gleason, Commissioner and CEO, PBR. “Under the new points system, the riders who can move up to the elite series will be the riders outside the top tour who are doing the best at the time.”

Point Table Graphics

Points will be awarded as follows for Unleash The Beast, Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour, Tier One Touring Pro Division, Challenger and International Cup series events:

Bonus Points for qualified rides will be awarded across all tours of PBR competition.

• 70-79.75 Point Rides = 7 Bonus Points

• 80-89.75 Point Rides = 8 Bonus Points

• 90-99.75 Point Rides = 9 Bonus Points

Points will be awarded as follows for Internationally Sanctioned and lower-tier Touring Pro Division and Challenger events

Qualifications for the 2023 PBR World Finals will be as follows:

• Top 35 UTB Standings

• Highest-placing rider at Velocity Tour Finals not already qualified

• Top 3 in Velocity Tour Standings not already qualified

• Highest international rider in Velocity Tour Finals not already qualified

2023 Rookie of the Year

The PBR Rookie of the Year will be decided among bull riders who, for the first time in their PBR career, achieve a Top 30 position in UTB during a PBR season or qualify for and compete at the World Finals. From the pool of bull riders meeting those criteria, the one with the most UTB series points after the World Finals will be deemed the 2023 PBR Rookie of the Year.

2023 YETI World Champion Bull (WCBB)

All bulls who participate in UTB, PBR Team Series, and any other special events or rounds designated by PBR and have had a minimum of eight outs in a PBR season are eligible for the WCBB, provided that they have not otherwise been deemed ineligible by PBR.

The Top 7 eligible bulls at the end of a UTB regular season will be entered into the World Finals and be guaranteed three outs. The PBR Livestock Director, in their sole discretion, has the authority to choose any additional bulls to receive three outs at the World Finals.

The top eight scored outs from the UTB regular season, the PBR Team Series events, and any other special events or rounds designated by PBR, and the top two out of three scores by the bulls participating in the World Finals (a total of ten outs) will be considered to decide the winner of the WCBB. The owner(s) of the bull with the highest average score across those ten outs will be crowned winner of the WCBB. 

If two or more bulls are tied based on the scoring criteria after the World Finals, the WCBB will be awarded to the owner(s)’ bull who has achieved the highest average score from their two best outs at the World Finals. If a tie still exists after a review of the scores described in the preceding sentence, the owner(s) of the tied bulls will share the WCBB, and the prize money will be evenly distributed among the stock contractors who own the WCBB-winning bulls.

For avoidance of doubt, if the score dropped from the World Finals is higher than the lowest regular-season out, the score at World Finals will still be dropped. The top eight regular-season outs and top two World Finals outs are to remain in the calculations for the World Champion Bucking Bull award.

Photo courtesy of Todd Brewer/Bull Stock Media