PUEBLO, Colo. – When Thursday evening rolls around, some of the best bull riders in the world are set to compete inside South Point Hotel Casino & Spa for the PBR Challenger Series Championship as the 2023 slate prepares to conclude.

While the season title, bragging rights and associated cash prizes are more than enough for to put it all on the line, the Top 5-ranked riders in the Challenger Global standings following this weekend’s finale will automatically earn berths to the first four events of the upcoming 2024 Unleash The Beast campaign!

Plenty of reasons for current tour leader No. 1 Alan de Souza and escalating talent in No. 2-ranked John Crimber to give it their all when PBR’s biggest weekend of the fall quickly approaches.

While Souza is set to bring just a 76.33-point advantage over Crimber, the pair has separated themselves from the rest of the pack, with No. 3 Sandro Batista (who’s spent a majority of his season competing with the Carolina Cowboys and Kansas City Outlaws throughout the 2023 PBR Camping World Team Series season) trailing by 502.83 points with just the season-culminating showdown remaining.

All of this year's action will be broadcast live on RidePass on Pluto TV beginning at 10 p.m. EST.

But alas, in celebrating six months of rank rides and thrilling scores, PBR.com is taking a look back at some of the top marks from the 2023 PBR Challenger Series season!

John Crimber – 90 Points (Fort Worth, Texas) Since turning 18 and officially joining the tour earlier this summer, John Crimber has absolutely been lighting the series on fire! Ranked No. 2 overall heading into this weekend’s one-night showdown, the young phenom recorded his first-ever 90-point conversion inside the legendary Cowtown Coliseum on Sept. 14. Dancing with GT-54H en route to meeting the historic mark, Crimber went on to capture the event title, edging out the Austin Gamblers’ Adriano Salgado by eight aggregate points.

John Crimber – 90 Points (Fort Worth, Texas) Well, you don’t storm to the front of the standings without several standout performances, right? Claiming his second 90-pointer in less than a month’s time, Crimber brought some additional fireworks to the tour’s final PBR Stockyards Showcase this past Thursday night. Invading the storied venue with another epic ride, he most recently bested Elkins 041 for a flashy 90 points, later earning 58.5 Challenger Global points for winning his ninth event since beginning his professional career on Aug. 12.

Daniel Keeping – 90 Points (Rocksprings, Texas) To a certain extent, it seems like most, if not all, cowboys just ride better in Texas. Add in the fact that Daniel Keeping lives there, and continues to represent his home state via competing for the Texas Rattlers, and it’s a bit of a no-brainer that the talented 24-year-old logged his best out of the 2023 Challenger Series slate in good ole Rocksprings, Texas. Coming off a highly unexpected, yet unsuccessful showcase at the 2023 World Finals: Unleash The Beast, Keeping quickly got back to work this summer. Representing his fourth-best score in his career and only 90 on Challenger Series so far, he went the distance aboard Trophy Hunter en route to securing the event title.

Eli Vastbinder – 90 Points (Archdale, North Carolina) It wasn’t within the southern comforts of Texas, but it sure checked the home-state box for Eli Vastbinder when he ripped off a sick 90-pointer of his own. Getting some preseason work in ahead of the 5-on-5 series’ eventual debut in Cheyenne, Wyoming, Vastbinder put on a show at the 24th Annual Boot Barn Jerome Davis PBR Invitational in Archdale, North Carolina, just 60-some miles away from his home in Statesville. Recording his ninth attempt scored 90 or above, he teamed up with F-Bomb for a perfect 90 on July 3. One hell of a tune-up go for one of the industry’s established riders.

Michael Lane – 90.5 Points (Archdale, North Carolina) Courtesy of his double entry, Vastbinder took home the second and third-place honors at the 24th Annual Boot Barn Jerome Davis PBR Invitational. But it was veteran Michael Lane who exited the competition with both the event’s high-marked ride and event title. Scored an impressive 90.5 points after finding the 8 aboard Oreo, the 33-year-old earned the second 90-point score of his career, and first in over 11 years, with his first (91 points) coming in 2012.

Kade Madsen – 91.5 Points (Deadwood, South Dakota) If the second half of the 2023 Challenger Series campaign belonged to a rising superstar in John Crimber, then the first half surely could be attributed to the heroics of Missouri Thunder youngster Kade Madsen. Demanding attention with stunning performances since being selected No. 4 overall during the 2023 PBR Teams Draft in Fort Worth, Texas, Madsen got right to work in proving that Luke Snyder and Ross Coleman made the right pick. Less than a month after the monumental draft, Madsen ripped off an insane 91.5-point ride atop Reba McEntire’s The Hammer, just the second 90-pointer of his young career, en route to winning the Do Deadwood PBR event title. 

Kade Madsen – 91.5 Points (Big Sky, Montana) With a taste of top-tier success introduced to his pallet, Madsen recognized his opportunity to make some noise ahead of the 2023 PBR Camping World Team Series season and proceeded to do just that. Racking up another 91.5-point effort, tying his own tour-best mark, Madsen bested Tulsa Time for an event-high mark while cruising to another event win. Since devoting his summer schedule to competing with the Missouri Thunder in 5-on-5 action, he’s dropped down to the No. 9 rank in the standings. But with the tour’s two highest-scored marks this season under his belt, it’s safe to say he’ll be spending most of his summers with the Bass Pro Shops-owned unit.

Photo courtesy of Mickey Owens/Bull Stock Media