FORT WORTH, Texas – A party was thrown. Teams were sent home.

And at the end of it all, a Champion was crowned.

Specifically, the Austin Gamblers, a team who’s been amongst the league’s favorites to capture the shiniest buckle in all the land in each of the circuit’s first three revolutions.

And despite capturing the regular season title in each of their first two seasons, it was the ole’ “third time’s the charm” stroke of destiny which hit home for Head Coach Michael Gaffney and gang.

RELATED: Gamblers go from panic to perfect en route to the 2024 PBR Teams Championship

With the 2024 PBR Camping World Team Series postseason in the books and still two weeks separating bull riding fans from the beginning of the 2025 Unleash The Beast campaign PBR.com is breaking down some of the biggest over and underperforming squads from the third gauntlet of dramatic playoff action!

While it would be easy to claim the eventual 2024 PBR Teams Champions were the biggest outlier in terms of overperforming compared to their No. 5 regular season ranking, we could just as easily suggest that any of the other seven teams that didn’t win it all could be viewed as having underperformed.

There are a few sets of muddied waters when you consider both the No. 1 Kansas City Outlaws and No. 2 Carolina Cowboys entered the postseason slate with plenty of momentum and even more firepower when it comes to swaggy, talented cowboys.

The Cowboys put their best boot forward after finding themselves participating in the final Last Chance Game of the weekend Saturday night, eventually paving their way to an ever-epic Championship Game showdown with the Gamblers. So, while the league’s once immortal runaways may have come up a bit short, we wouldn’t consider it choking.

Not to the extent the orange and black squad from Kansas City did, unfortunately for Head Coach J.W. Hart and squad, at least.

Regularly putting on a show throughout the second half of the regular season slate as THE hottest team on tour, there was no reason that the Outlaws shouldn’t have come into Sin City and put the finishing touches on their quality campaign.

However, running into the surging Gamblers in the semifinals proved to be their ultimate unfortunate stroke of luck.

Thankfully for riders who may be exiting the 5-on-5 landscape with some lingering frustrations, PBR’s Unleash The Beast, Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour and Touring Pro Division events are set to provide countless opportunities for cowboys to prove their worth on the individual level.

But before we turn the page – Let’s take a closer look at some of this year’s biggest booms and busts from the 2024 PBR Teams Championship!

2024 PBR Teams Championship Underperformers:

No. 1 Kansas City Outlaws (Earned No. 3 placement)
When you enter the postseason with the outright No. 1 seed after putting a 19-9 stamp on season three en route to capturing the franchise’s first-ever regular season honors, you’re likely to feel the weight of the world when it comes to expectations. Having the reigning World Champion on your roster doesn’t just make you favored. It makes you THE favorite. Add in a pair of established coaching figures in J.W. Hart and Guilherme Marchi and you’ll understand why the squad’s goals involved hoisting the largest gold buckle in the air at conclusion of the season-culminating showdown. But it appears the team will need to steadily grind their way to the top of the playoff mountain similar to the way the Austin Gamblers were forced to: One year at a time.

Able to take care of business during their first opportunity inside T-Mobile Arena, the league’s regular season champs took down the No. 6 Missouri Thunder in convincing fashion, eventually capturing a 262.5-88 final. Which was exactly what they were supposed to do after earning their No. 1 seed, thus drawing the lowest-ranked seed remaining when Friday’s opening round concluded.

Entering the postseason with not only two of the league’s Top 5-scoring cowboys in the 2024 PBR Teams race, but three in the Top 10 (including Sandro Batista, Cassio Dias and Koltin Hevalow), the Outlaws were primed to find themselves dancing on Championship Sunday. Which was exactly the case after seeing their top-tier trio convert Saturday.

And when Sunday’s slate rolled around, the Outlaws turned things up a notch, eventually going 4-for-5 during their semifinal matchup against Austin. However, with the Gamblers turning in a perfect 5-for-5 game, suddenly Kansas City was packing its bags for an earlier exit than anticipated. Batista, the lone man who didn’t produce a qualified ride in the game, came up just short, eventually dispatched at a heartbreaking 7.16 seconds. The Outlaws didn’t underperform in the long run, later defeating the Florida Freedom to claim a podium position. But anything other than a championship win has to be considered an underperformance for a squad with that many skillsets and top-end flashes. Fans can expect the Outlaws to return to the chutes with some vengeance in 2025.

No. 2 Carolina Cowboys (Earned No. 2 Placement)
The idea of underperforming can be interpreted in a few different ways. Regardless, we’re applying the term to both the Kansas City Outlaws and Carolina Cowboys, as they were easily the pair of odds-on favorites when it came to winning it all. And while the Gamblers had something to say when it came to postseason perfection, the Cowboys became one of the most recent contingents to be haunted by the curse of the first-round bye, as both Carolina and Kansas City continued the trend of teams enjoying Friday night off only to fail in getting the job done once their number is called later in the weekend. Teams are now a collective 0-6 through three Championship events after taking the opening night off, which means some regular season rest and getting hot at the right time have gone a long way when it comes to parlaying any amount of regular season success into Sin City.

In opposite fashion of their fellow rested unit from Kansas City, the Cowboys faltered during their first game of the weekend Saturday Night, dropping a 349.75-166 contest to the Gamblers as Cooper Davis teamed up with Derek Kolbaba (albeit via a 75.5-point ride) for a 2-for-5 effort. Grinding their way to Championship Sunday the hard way, later outlasting the Texas Rattlers and Missouri Thunder, Carolina improved to just 4-for-10 on the weekend as Davis and Kolbaba doubled down. 2022 World Champion Daylon Swearingen finally found the ride column during the team’s semifinal win over the Florida Freedom, which was very much needed, as John Crimber’s 90.75-point strike would’ve outpaced Davis’s 88.5-point dance, as Carolina made their way to the final game of the season.

 And while Kolbaba and Davis continued their productive weekends, with an additional ride from Adriano Salgado, the squad’s 3-for-5 showcase wasn’t enough to knock off the Gamblers, who danced their way to destiny in completing their run, 357.5-252.5. In a season where the Cowboys averaged roughly 2.5 rides per game, they mathematically outperformed their regular season rate. But in a “win or go home” format, they ran into a team who wanted it more, watching on as the Gamblers produced a flashy 4-for-5 slate en route to sealing the deal against Carolina. As long as Davis and Kimzey are willing to give it another go in 2025, Carolina will be eager for another run.

2024 PBR Teams Championship Overperformers:

No. 3 Florida Freedom (Earned No. 4 Placement)
Sure, the Florida Freedom entered the postseason with the No. 3 seed via their 16-12 record (which technically tied the No. 4 Texas Rattlers) – But as one of just four teams to finish the regular season with positive records, it was clear the red, white and blue team was riding on the coattails of 2024 PBR Teams MVP John Crimber as the young stud carried the team on his back for a majority of his rookie season.

Which is nothing against the Freedom as a whole, as they’ve earned a reputation as a squad that can consistently put up some quality numbers. Producing quite the lengthy streak of late-season games with at least three ride scores, this unit can be scary when they’re finding their stride. The challenge has been getting guys, outside of Crimber, to consistently produce said flashes, as it was a bit of a mixed bag approach throughout the season when it came to who was chipping in and when. But the kid needs a co-star in 2025 if they want to improve on their No. 4 postseason finish.

Yet, the team’s run in Sin City can still be viewed as a bit of an anomaly, as we aren’t sure they reach Championship Sunday if each of the other seven teams got another shot at it, say, this weekend.

Taking care of business during their Friday night showdown against the expansion New York Mavericks, 262.75-178.5, they managed their prized three-ride mark en route to stamping their ticket to Saturday’s slate, as Joao Henrique Lucas and Alex Cerqueira teamed up with Crimber to secure the win. Continuing to ride above expectation in their second showdown, the squad managed an epic 4-for-5 effort on their way to sending the Texas Rattlers to the Last Chance Game. Officially 2-0 at that point, the Freedom hadn’t dealt with any postseason problems and all was good for Head Coach Paulo Crimber and friends.

However, when the final afternoon of PBR Camping World Team Series action dawned, a drastically different version of the squad showed up. Falling to the Carolina Cowboys, 178.25-90.75, thanks to Crimber’s lone conversion as he put the finishing touches on his Championship MVP, the team’s run came to a sudden end. And unfortunately for Florida, there aren’t any Last Chance Games on Championship Sunday, as the team found itself participating in the Third Place Game, a contest they eventually dropped to the Kansas City Outlaws. Tied for the second-most rides all weekend along (9 – alongside the Cowboys and Outlaws), Florida made a splash. Next year, they’ll look to make waves.

No. 5 Austin Gamblers (Earned No. 1 Placement)
Saving the best for last, the Gamblers were 2024’s “Cinderella story,” regarded by many as appearing “burned out” and potentially “not the best fit of individual athletes in the same locker room.” And while the team’s run wasn’t as unexpected as the Nashville Stampede’s historic journey from the No. 8 seed to eventual 2022 PBR Teams Champions, or as energetic as the Missouri Thunder’s epic run from 2023, they were far from favorites heading into this thing with a messy 13-15 record. But when the dust settled, it was clear to see that Jose Vitor Leme and friends were THE hottest squad from the postseason.

Austin didn’t get the opening night off to rest for the first time in team history. So the guys pulled their gloves tight and charged their way into Friday’s slate during a date with the Missouri Thunder. Which marks the only time all weekend the team underperformed, eventually dropping a 265.75-90.5 game to the red and yellow Bass Pro Shops unit. Of course, that wouldn’t stop the Gamblers from exiting the Last Chance Game, 100% thanks to an elite conversion from Kaique Pacheco. In a game where only three qualified rides were recorded amongst 15 attempts, it was the 2018 World Champion who reigned supreme, officially punching his team’s ticket to Saturday.

Edging out the No. 8 Stampede by a mere point isn’t exactly the way you want to be moving on. But it surely beats getting sent home early. Having tasted defeat on Friday, the team returned to T-Mobile Arena Saturday with a different vibe. Which quickly turned into a different result in their head-to-head matchup against the Cowboys. Outperforming the league’s No. 2 seed and once runaway darling two to one, their spot on Championship Sunday was officially secured. And as noted above, Austin went on to knock off the No. 1 Outlaws before drawing a dramatic rematch with the racing striped-Cowboys.

Which went about as spectacular as possible. Drumming up a fruitful 4-for-5 effort en route to capturing the biggest gold buckle in Western sports, the Gamblers ended their successful postseason run in epic fashion via a 357.5-252.5 final. Seeing strikes from Leme, Pacheco, Lucas Divino and a playoff-best 92-pointer from Dalton Kasel, they defined what it means to look adversity in the eye and stare it down with an even nastier look as the only unit to manage double-digit ride totals, 15-for-25 overall. And by nasty, we mean productive. Almost over productive for a team which averaged just 1.92 rides per game all season long.

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media