PUEBLO, Colo. – Depending on what team you were supporting or how well your favorite rider did during last weekend’s 2023 PBR Teams Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada, there are a variety of takeaways from the second-ever postseason tournament inside T-Mobile Arena.

From whether bye weeks are actually beneficial to what the perfect formula for forging a successful squad looks like. And whether or not that formula even exists.

Are veterans the most reliable, talented riders for the 5-on-5 format? Or will the wave of youthful excellence pave the way for the future of these organizations while stealing the limelight today?

Two things that we do know now that the dust from the season-ending gauntlet has settled:

The Texas Rattlers were absolutely dominant.

From Round 1 onto Championship Sunday, they posted a perfect 4-0 record en route to capturing their first PBR Teams Championship. Not taking any shortcuts, either, just the way Head Coach Cody Lambert would want it.

RELATED: #InCaseYouMissedIt: Texas Rattlers storm to 2023 PBR Camping World Teams Championship

Watching on as veteran Joao Ricardo Vieira completed his flawless 4-for-4 showcase en route to both securing the PBR Teams Championship MVP honors and granting his team an early lead during its Championship Game matchup against the No. 1 Austin Gamblers, it’s far from the first time Lambert has been proud of his ace.

“He leads by example. He works. He's the hardest worker and he's so strong and fit,” a rarely emotional Lambert shared on the dirt following the win.

“He's so hardworking and humble and he loves the mentality of our team because we want to be tough cowboys that get the job done and don't talk about it too much.”

Well, the box has been checked, coach. And the Job is complete.

The second main takeaway?

That the series has cemented itself as one of the most entertaining sporting spectacles to grace the Western world. Expanding the tour’s footprint, growing team-based rivalries and continuing to engage fans and communities around the world with the exciting new format, year two has been one hell of season for the PBR Camping World Team Series.

This weekend’s dramatic playoff showdown? The perfect topper to what’s become quite the tasty cake.

RELATED: Ten takeaways from 2023 PBR Camping World Teams Championship

Had we told the average bull riding fan (even just five years ago) that they’d be lining up outside some of the greatest venues in the country waiting for pictures and autographs with the world’s best riders sporting the exact same jerseys, sponsors and beyond, they would’ve had some questions.

Bring up the idea that they’d be combining their scores with others, executing training camps and team retreats and pouring their all into the grind while helping to usher in the NEXT generation of bull riding talents?

They’d have said it was a pipe dream. And maybe, five years ago, that’s all that it was.

But the reality of the situation is that PBR has stumbled upon a gold mine. With plenty of prospectors around the professional sporting world, the carts, and more crews, are destined to start heading west as the PBR Camping World Team Series prepares to shift gears towards the 2024 season.

Enough of the big-picture rambling though, as the 2023 PBR Teams Championship featured a whole lotta rank rides, shattered records and big checks.

With year two of the electric 5-on-5 tour officially in the books, we’re taking a quick look back at some of the numerical takeaways from the 2023 PBR Teams Championship in this week’s By the Numbers!

4-0: With three days of action-packed, postseason action, including two enticing Last Chance Games, there were a lot of routes in which the eventual champions can take in earning their spot within the winner’s circle. Entering this season’s PBR Teams Championship with the No. 3 rank, courtesy of the team’s 16-12 regular season record, the Texas Rattlers got right to work on Friday night, with the No. 1 Austin Gamblers and No. 2 Kansas City Outlaws watching from afar. Defeating the No. 8 Missouri Thunder 174-84.5 during opening night’s Game 3 showdown, the Rattlers went on to make it two in a row on Saturday, later securing a 170.75-87 victory over the No. 4 Oklahoma Freedom. With their Top 4 finish solidified, they continued their perfect run, eventually sending the No. 5 Arizona Ridge Riders to the tournament’s Third Place Game via a sound 175.25-0 win. When Sunday afternoon’s Championship Game rolled around, the Rattlers found themselves squaring off with their instate rival Austin Gamblers. But after making quick work of their first three opponents, not to mention defeating Austin just two weeks prior during the Rattlers’ homestand event, Lambert and company weren’t backing down from two-time PBR Teams MVP Jose Vitor Leme and company.

355.25: Coming into the postseason with a reputation of being one of the league’s deepest, most talented rosters, the Rattlers ended up using all eight riders who traveled to Las Vegas. A true team effort. But when the Championship Game rolled around and just five opportunities remained, it was Joao Ricardo Vieira, Brady Oleson, Brady Fielder, Cody Jesus and Daniel Keeping who were tapped to compete for all the marbles. Knowing they needed at least three or four rides to defeat their skilled opponents, Lambert again tasked his team with riding all five. And they damn near did. Kicking things into overdrive once the final battle of the season began, the Rattlers not only went on to defeat the Gamblers but solidified their spot in the PBR record books. Posting a 355.25-265.25 win over Austin was the obvious goal, but recording the most points of any game in the tournament was an added result. With Oleson’s 5.48-second buckoff challenged by Hunter representing the only ride to not go the distance, Vieira (88.75 points), Fielder (87.25 points), Jesus (88.75 points) and Keeping (90.5) combined for one of the industry’s most exciting bull riding competitions to date.

RELATED: Texas Rattlers’ Daniel Keeping concludes Championship gauntlet with determination, family

Second-Best: For as dominant as the Austin Gamblers have been through the league’s first two seasons, posting a 16-12 record in year one before setting the new record for most regular season wins at 19-9, the organization is now just 2-3 all-time in postseason competition. Dropping a second-round showdown to the 2022 PBR Teams Champion Nashville Stampede during the inaugural tournament, they went on find themselves eliminated a few hours later, losing in the Last Chance Game the Rattlers as their 2022 season ended. Nearly a year later, the Gamblers successfully defeated the Missouri Thunder on Saturday, representing their first win in the playoff format. Doubling down against the young team, they again beat Missouri on Championship Sunday after the Thunder navigated its second Last Chance Game of the weekend but came up one ride short at the end of the day. Seeing a less-than-perfect version of Jose Vitor Leme during this spring’s 2023 World Finals: Unleash The Beast, the two-time World Champion showed up in Las Vegas, going 3-for-3 and doing his part. With Jose doing his thing and both Lucas Divino (2-for-3) and free agent signee Rafael dos Santos (3-for-3) coming alive, it likely makes it even more frustrating having needed one just more rank ride. With “Mr. 90 Points” Dalton Kasel (13-for-29 on the year) ending the season on an 11-out buckoff streak as he continues to deal with injury, the Gamblers will have to wait until 2024 to see if they’ve got what it takes to complete a legendary run of their own.

First-Round Exits: Coming into the second season of 5-on-5 competition, the Austin Gamblers were one of the two squads found atop many preseason rankings. Making a quality run in both the regular season and playoff gauntlet, they came up just 90 points short of their ultimate goal, but at least got pretty close. The other team eiyh high expectations, the No. 6 Carolina Cowboys, found themselves eliminated on Friday night after dropping both of its games. Putting up a quality fight in the first, they ran into a red-hot Arizona squad, which recorded 344 points to Carolina’s 265.5. With 2022 World Champion Daylon Swearingen returning to the lineup for the first time in over a month, he logged a nice 88.75 point-ride abord Lights Out in Game 1, but failed to cover Whiplash in the Last Chance Game. With Cooper Davis and Sage Steele Kimzey complementing Swearingen early, they were on the opposite page of Josh Frost, who nearly willed the team to a 4-for-5 go against Arizona, but was bucked off in 7.2 seconds. Later serving as the only Carolina rider to go the distance in the Last Chance Game, scored 89 points on I’m Him, Frost and company will spend the offseason making some tweaks, but are primed to enter year three, again, among the league’s favorites.

RELATED: Missouri Thunder piecing things together as No. 8 seed’s run continues Saturday

Six Games: Missouri shocked the world not once, but twice, this past weekend, riding a lot of bulls in six total games. As we mentioned, there are a lot of paths to Championship Sunday, and Missouri wasn’t afraid to get down and dirty to get there. Which is good for the young squad. Experience, alone, on the world’s biggest stage is key, but picking up a pair of wins and advancing to day three’s explosive slate is a HUGE accomplishment for a team that was 8-20 and finished as the regular season as the No. 8-ranked squad. Selected No. 4 overall during the 2023 PBR Teams Draft this past spring, Kade Madsen is a star in the making. Helping his squad pick up a pair of wins, the talented 18-year-old ended his first postseason with a stunning 4-for-6 record as one of just three riders to record four qualified rides. Continuing to evolve as their young team figures things out, the Thunder watched on as fellow youngster Felipe Furlan ripped off a 4-for-5 record of his own as he flashed inside T-Mobile Arena. While Madsen is expected to miss the next two seasons for Missouri, opting into a two-year retreat in the greater Nashville area, Furlan will rejoin the Thunder season as the team continues to build for the future with its “dynasty” approach.

RELATED: Keyshawn Whitehorse delivers thrilling walk-off win as Ridge Riders eye another Championship Sunday

Top 3 Again: It’s not where they wanted to finish, but the Arizona Ridge Riders continued to turn it up a notch for another lengthy playoff run. Finishing last year’s inaugural tournament as the runner-up, they exited the 2023 iteration as the champions of the Third Place Game after defeating the Missouri Thunder, 344.75-0. Had it not been for the Rattlers posting their potent scoring contest in the finale, Arizona would own the two highest scores of the tournament with 344 and 344.75-point efforts. Despite coming up short, we can’t end this thing without calling out the heroics of one Eduardo Aparecido, who enjoyed a 3-for-4 record in Las Vegas. Now 7-for-8 all-time within PBR Teams postseason play, he’s one of the many established veterans who continue to remind riders, and front offices, that true competitors get the job done in the biggest of environments. At any age. Had the team been able to tap injured riders Nick Tetz and Colten Fritzlan, they very well could’ve been the victors, but will have to wait until next season, where they’ll return with a healthy and talented group of men.

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media