PUEBLO, Colo. – When riding bulls is your job, there’s nothing better than climbing into the chutes and preparing to get down and dirty for at least 8 seconds.
Completing the task at hand.
Going to work and hearing the whistle. For the unmatchable glory. For a paycheck.
And now, for just the second season in 30 years of Professional Bull Riders’ greatness, for your teammates, fans and a PBR Teams Championship.
But when you’ve been riding bulls for some four months straight, (not to mention the grueling Unleash The Beast season concluding less than two months prior to the beginning of the explosive 5-on-5 summer format) sometimes the best thing is some extra rest and time with the family.
That’s exactly what the Austin Gamblers and Kansas City Outlaws earned Sunday afternoon in Fort Worth, Texas, when they secured the No. 1 and No. 2 seeds, respectively, at the 2023 PBR Teams Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Set to kick back and take in Day 1’s action from suites inside T-Mobile Arena on Friday, Oct. 20, members from the league’s top-seeded squads will be surrounded by friends and family throughout the beginning of the weekend as they soak up some extra recovery time.
Despite being ranked as the Top 2 teams for the better part of the season, Austin and Kansas City have been grouped together for a while now. But not quite at the team level.
Seeing standouts in Jose Vitor Leme and Cassio Dias battling it out all season long for the 2023 MVP title and corresponding $100,000 prize, both teams have already warmed up to the additional attention, and expectations, associated with their organizations.
RELATED: Leme secures second consecutive PBR Teams MVP title, tips cap to Dias
The real question that comes into play revolves around how helpful a night off can really be. Especially when the other four teams moving onto Day 2 are already warmed up and adjusted to the postseason jitters.
After entering last year’s playoff showdown with the same No. 1 seed and opening night break, they didn’t exactly return to their top-notch competitive format, eventually being eliminated on Saturday as the Arizona Ridge Riders, Oklahoma Freedom, Texas Rattlers and Nashville Stampede punched their ticket to the final Championship Sunday of the season.
Which is technically also good news for the Outlaws in the long run, as the Texas Rattlers (who entered last year’s PBR Teams Championship with a No. 2 seed) went on to enjoy a long run inside T-Mobile Arena, albeit coming up just short as the inaugural event’s runner-up.
But after coming up just short in the MVP race to Leme, there’s no chance Cassio Dias and his orange and black squad have their eyes set on second place. They’re set to charge into Sin City with one of the most talented teams and with the hottest win streak at six-straight.
With the electric 5-on-5 tour set to invade T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Oct. 20-22 for the final event of the 2023 PBR Camping World Team Series campaign, we’re taking a quick look back at some of the numerical takeaways from Rattler Days in this week’s By the Numbers!
6-0: The Texas Rattlers may have had to wait until the final event of the regular season to enjoy the sights, sounds and energy of their electric hometown crowd, but it’s safe to say it was worth the wait! Going a perfect 3-0 this past weekend en route to racking up convincing wins against the Oklahoma Freedom (262.75-0), Austin Gamblers (260.25-89.25) and Nashville Stampede (264-169), the Rattlers improved to 6-0 all-time inside the confines of Dickies Arena. Adding to its established 3-0 record during the team’s event-winning efforts during the 2022 season, it was Brady Oleson who finished the job for the home team this time, able to log an impressive 88.75-point conversion atop Smooth Over It during extra outs to secure the victory. Setting the pace with an event-best 10 qualified rides, including three in each of their three games and the additional ride from Oleson, Texas finished the season with the second-most conversions of the season (56), second only to the No. 2 Kansas City Outlaws (60).
MVP No. 1: After seeing Alex Cerqueira become the first Oklahoma Freedom rider to earn an event MVP title this season last weekend, the Rattlers watched on as Oleson did the same for Texas, courtesy of his 3-for-3 outing during the team’s homestand event. Kickstarting the successful weekend for Texas, Oleson first went to war with Smooth Over it, originally besting the animal athlete for 88.5 points. Challenged by Pickle Moonshine on Saturday, Oleson quickly extended his ride streak to two, scored 88.25 points en route to helping the Rattlers pick up another win over the defending champs. While he was not inserted into Sunday’s original lineup, he completed his 3-for-3 showcase with another favorable go aboard Smooth Over It. Bringing home the victory while giving Head Coach Cody Lambert and squad plenty of momentum heading into Las Vegas, are the Rattlers as hot as the No. 2 Kansas City Outlaws heading into the 2023 PBR Teams Championship?
87 points: The number of points which separated eventual 2023 PBR Teams MVP recipient Jose Vitor Leme and runner-up Cassio Dias in the closest race for the individual aggregate score award in league history? A mere 87 after seeing the Kansas City Outlaws’ budding superstar go 3-for-4 in Fort Worth, Texas in willing his team to a first-round bye at the 2023 PBR Teams Championship. Even more dramatic? The talented 21-year-old had a chance to steal the title late into Championship Sunday, but was dispatched from his bovine opponent Nefarious in a quick 2.21 seconds during his attempt in extra outs. Despite getting banged up Friday night during his dismount, Leme was able to piece together a 2-for-3 showcase in closing out the race, finding the whistle atop Whiplash for 88 points during his opening night showdown and again Saturday dancing with Outlaw for a title-earning 89.25 points. A pair of monumental rides for the two-time World Champion, but not quite the most important ride of the event.
500 Club: That ride belonged to a different World Champion. One who’s already secured three season-culminating wins, and after winning it all with the Nashville Stampede last season during the 2022 PBR Teams Championship, the only three-time World Champion who also owns a Teams Championship buckle. But that wasn’t enough for the storied cowboy. Joining the likes of Guilherme Marchi, J.B. Mauney and Mike Lee in the prestigious “500 Club,” Silvano Alves got the historic ride out of the way early, besting True Religion for 84.75 points. Keeping the momentum alive for both he and the defending Champion Stampede, Silvano completed the weekend with a thrilling 3-for-3 record, adding conversions aboard Bubba G and Mr. Winston to finish the regular season ranked third in the MVP race.
RELATED: #InCaseYouMissedIt: Alves rides No. 500, Leme wins MVP title and PBR Teams Championship field is set
46.25 points: During a season in which the riders reminded fans that they are very much capable of regularly making the 8 (It wasn’t so long ago that we watched the collective bovine pack put some whoopings on the UTB usuals), the bulls have still shown what they’re capable of. Recording the only 46-point bull score of the weekend, it was Man Hater who posted an event-high 46.25 points Friday night via dispatching Missouri Thunder rookie Leonardo Castro Ferreira in 6.19 seconds. Not only did the epic score represent just the fourth attempt to meet the 46-point mark this season, but it qualified as the first to go for more than 46 points in more than 21 days, while stealing the show on the season as the highest-marked bull score of the entire 2023, saving the best for last!
2-4. 6-0: This year’s first-round byes at the 2023 PBR Teams Championship inside T-Mobile Arena were very much earned in differing fashions. With the No. 1 Austin Gamblers and No. 2 Kansas City Outlaws set to skip Friday’s opening night games, automatically advancing to Saturday’s Day 2 slate, both teams will be able to rest their riders while keeping an eye on the competition from the comforts of their suite. But with a closer look, the Top 2 teams entered this year’s postseason in different fashions. Essentially stumbling into the No. 1 seed and regular season championship courtesy of an insanely productive first two-thirds of the season, the Gamblers have managed just a 2-4 record throughout the tour’s final two regular season events. With Dalton Kasel a bit banged up and seeing riders (other than the two-time World Champion) struggle to make the 8, how much will Austin’s 19-9 record mean when the brightest lights in the business begin to shine? Meanwhile for Kansas City, which concluded its season one game back at 18-10, J.W. Hart’s team has strung together a perfect 6-0 record during its final six games, displaying some elite flashes while staying consistently above the two-ride mark, with Wingson Henrique da Silva and Sandro Batista continuing to stay hot. After seeing last year’s inaugural champions get the job done from the No. 8 ranking, are either of this year’s top seeds to be favored heading into the season-ending tournament?
Photo courtesy of Todd Brewer/Bull Stock Media
