Missouri Thunder announce 2023 PBR Teams game schedule
Thunder face in-state rival Kansas City Outlaws, Texas Rattlers, Oklahoma Freedom during Thunder Days homestand September 15-17.
RIDGEDALE, Mo. – The Missouri Thunder, Ridgedale’s first professional sports team, announced their game schedule ahead of the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Teams’ second season.
The 2023 PBR Teams season will include a three-day homestand event hosted by each of the eight founding teams and will begin with neutral site games in Cheyenne, Wyoming, while traveling to Anaheim, California, for a second neutral site event in August. The PBR Teams Championship returns to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas on October 20-22.
The Missouri Thunder’s homestand, Thunder Days, will run from Friday, September 15 to Sunday, September 17, at the scenic Thunder Ridge Nature’s Arena, the only outdoor home venue in the league. The Thunder’s five-on-five bull riding action on the homestand begins with a rivalry game versus the Kansas City Outlaws on Friday, continues against the Texas Rattlers on Saturday, and closes out in a clash with the Oklahoma Freedom on Sunday.
Every game during the regular season will be carried by CBS, CBS Sports Network (CBSSN) or Pluto TV (PLUTO). The Missouri Thunder appear on CBS in two of the seven “Game of the Week” broadcasts, first in Kansas City versus the Outlaws televised on Sunday, August 5, and finally on Saturday, September 30, against the Arizona Ridge Riders in Glendale.
Week | Date | Venue | Away | Home |
1 | 7/24/2023 | Cheyenne, WY | Nashville Stampede | Missouri Thunder |
1 | 7/25/2023 | Cheyenne, WY | Austin Gamblers | Missouri Thunder |
2 | 8/3/2023 | Kansas City, MO | Carolina Cowboys | Missouri Thunder |
2 | 8/4/2023 | Kansas City, MO | Arizona Ridge Riders | Missouri Thunder |
2 | 8/5/2023 | Kansas City, MO | Missouri Thunder | Kansas City Outlaws |
3 | 8/12/2023 | Anaheim, CA | Missouri Thunder | Oklahoma Freedom |
3 | 8/13/2023 | Anaheim, CA | Arizona Ridge Riders | Missouri Thunder |
4 | 8/18/2023 | Nashville, TN | Missouri Thunder | Nashville Stampede |
4 | 8/19/2023 | Nashville, TN | Missouri Thunder | Oklahoma Freedom |
4 | 8/20/2023 | Nashville, TN | Missouri Thunder | Austin Gamblers |
5 | 8/25/2023 | Austin, TX | Missouri Thunder | Arizona Ridge Riders |
5 | 8/26/2023 | Austin, TX | Oklahoma Freedom | Missouri Thunder |
5 | 8/27/2023 | Austin, TX | Missouri Thunder | Texas Rattlers |
6 | 9/8/2023 | Oklahoma City, OK | Missouri Thunder | Nashville Stampede |
6 | 9/9/2023 | Oklahoma City, OK | Carolina Cowboys | Missouri Thunder |
6 | 9/10/2023 | Oklahoma City, OK | Kansas City Outlaws | Missouri Thunder |
7 | 9/15/2023 | Ridgedale, MO | Kansas City Outlaws | Missouri Thunder |
7 | 9/16/2023 | Ridgedale, MO | Texas Rattlers | Missouri Thunder |
7 | 9/17/2023 | Ridgedale, MO | Oklahoma Freedom | Missouri Thunder |
8 | 9/22/2023 | Greensboro, NC | Missouri Thunder | Austin Gamblers |
8 | 9/23/2023 | Greensboro, NC | Nashville Stampede | Missouri Thunder |
8 | 9/24/2023 | Greensboro, NC | Texas Rattlers | Missouri Thunder |
9 | 9/29/2023 | Glendale, AZ | Missouri Thunder | Texas Rattlers |
9 | 9/30/2023 | Glendale, AZ | Missouri Thunder | Arizona Ridge Riders |
9 | 10/1/2023 | Glendale, AZ | Missouri Thunder | Carolina Cowboys |
10 | 10/6/2023 | Ft Worth, TX | Missouri Thunder | Carolina Cowboys |
10 | 10/7/2023 | Ft Worth, TX | Missouri Thunder | Kansas City Outlaws |
10 | 10/8/2023 | Ft Worth, TX | Austin Gamblers | Missouri Thunder |
During the league’s first season, the Thunder got off to a strong start but eventually finished sixth, going 13-15 in gameplay.
Led by Andrew Alvidrez, who went 11-for-24, the Thunder started the year hot, winning their first two games at the season-launch event in Cheyenne, Wyoming, in part due to Adriano Salgado’s historic 89.25-point score atop American Gangster, the first qualified ride in PBR Teams history. The score also secured Missouri the first-ever game win in league history, propelling them past the Texas Rattlers.
Missouri continued to roll after Cheyenne, going 4-1 to finish third overall in Kansas City, Missouri, and second in Anaheim, California. Riding the early season success, the team held the league No. 1 rank into the mid-August event in Nashville, Tennessee.
After facing some adversity, the Thunder fell in the standings but rallied to finish third in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, climbing back into fifth place. After closing out the year with back-to-back fifth-place finishes in Fort Worth, Texas, and Glendale, Arizona, the Thunder dropped to sixth in the standings ahead of the Teams Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada, where they went 0-for-2.
Prior to the start of the 2023 season, Missouri made significant changes to their roster. They first traded Colten Fritzlan to the Arizona Ridge Riders for the fourth overall pick in the 2023 PBR Teams Draft.
The Thunder then used their league-high four picks to select Joao Lucas Campos, Kade Madsen, Eduardo Matos and Felipe Furlan. These newcomers joined Alvidrez, Luke Parkinson and Marcelo Procopio Pereira, who remained with the team from the 2022 season.
Both Alvidrez and Pereira found success on the PBR’s premier series in 2023 as they finished inside the Top 35 of the elite tour’s standings, while Campos won the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals and went 2-for-8 at the 30th Anniversary World Finals.
The team rounded out their lineup with Reserve Roster riders Andy Bohl and Paulo Rossetto.
Blending the best of last season with new talent, the Thunder are ready to contend for a Teams championship in 2023.
Alvidrez, Campos and Pereira hit the dirt at the scenic Thunder Ridge Nature’s Arena beginning at 7:45 p.m. CDT on Friday, September 15, 6:45 p.m. CDT on Saturday, September 16, and 1:45 p.m. CDT on Sunday, September 17.
Three-day ticket packages are available, offering fans a 15% discount on General Admission Tickets, and parking starts at $20.
For more information about Missouri Thunder, visit https://pbr.com/teams/thunder/, Missouri Thunder on Facebook, @missouri_thunder on Instagram, or @MissourThunder on Twitter.
Photo courtesy of Josh/Bull Stock Media