FORT WORTH – Anything can happen in Las Vegas. That holds as true for inside the bull riding arena as it does for the endless casino floors.

Perhaps fittingly, it was the Austin Gamblers making a little Vegas magic this past weekend at the 2024 PBR Camping World Team Series Championship.

In prior years, the Gamblers had been on the wrong end of other teams’ magical moments, bounced in Round 2 in 2022 and falling short in the championship game in 2023 after entering both Championship events as the No. 1 seed.

This season, the Gamblers went a disappointing 13-15 and headed to Vegas as the No. 5 seed, nobody’s favorite to make much noise at the season-culminating event.

Things didn’t get off to an auspicious start, as Austin fell to the No. 6 Missouri Thunder, 265.75-90.5, in their first game to be relegated to the Last Chance Game, which they won by the skin of their teeth thanks to an 88.75-point ride from Kaique Pacheco.

The Gamblers were moving on, but after going 2-for-10, things weren’t looking promising.

“I think it was just apprehension,” Gamblers head coach Michael Gaffney said. “There was a lot of apprehension about, you know, we have to try so hard. We saw Ramon (de Lima), for instance, trying so hard and clenching. You can’t clench on these types of bulls. They’re too rank. And we went into that Last Chance Game, and there was clearly a difference. They broke the ice, as it were. I sound like the old cliché, but they truly did break the ice, and I think they relaxed and thought, ‘Okay, we got that one done. Now we’ve got to go back to believing in ourselves and do our job.’”

The following day, the Gamblers upset the No. 2 Carolina Cowboys with a 4-for-5 performance, 349.75-166. The only blemish in that game was Lucas Divino being called for a slap at 5.5 seconds, though he did ride for 8 seconds.

Then came the semifinals – the Gamblers vs. the No. 1 Kansas City Outlaws – and the biggest jewel on the Gamblers’ championship crown.

Austin took down Kansas City thanks to the team’s first-ever perfect game, 432.75-357.5. (The Outlaws’ Sandro Batista was called for a slap at 7.16 seconds, so this game was 0.84 seconds away from being a dual perfect game.)

Pacheco struck again for the Gamblers, riding Bueno for 87.5 points in the first out to immediately put Austin in front.

“I think, especially when they’re riding five, never to put it on one key thing,” Gaffney said. “But I think Ice stepped out there and set the pace and made just a beautiful, dominating ride. We had the bull just two nights ago, and he made short work of Jolly, of Lucas Divino. Strong, long, and Ice came out today and just dominated him. He set the pace, and that’s what you need. You need that. It’s a feel-good.”

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Austin followed up Pacheco’s ride with Lima riding Bandito Bug for 78.25 points, Divino riding Margin of Error for 87.75 points, and Dalton Kasel riding Baldy for 90.25 points.

Then, closer Jose Vitor Leme put a bow on the victory with 89 points on Feeds Red River.

“(He has) the steadfastness to get through those valleys that we’ve been in, and the meticulousness to really keep neutral and never get too, too low, never get too, too high,” Gaffney said of Leme. “He’s always pretty neutral. He doesn’t get too flustered. And not that he didn’t have doubts, but just to make it through that gauntlet, as it were, through the year. And then his ever-presence of just calm. That’s the space that he lives in, and I think it gives, maybe not all the time, but a reassurance to the rest of the crew that he’s there. He’s what my wife calls the oak. That’s what she calls him, the oak, because he’s always there to be leaning on, and to lean upon. He epitomizes that.”

The perfect game – the sixth in league history and just the second at a PBR Teams Championship (Arizona Ridge Riders in 2022) – gave Austin the momentum it had been lacking all season heading into the championship game.

There, Austin went 4-for-5 yet again, again taking down the Cowboys to become the 2024 PBR Teams Champion.

RELATED: Austin Gamblers win 2024 PBR Teams Championship

Again, Pacheco led off with a qualified ride, improving to 4-for-5 in Las Vegas and 19-for-33 (57%) since joining the Gamblers this spring. Again, Kasel contributed a 90-point ride to the cause. And again, Leme closed things out with a qualified ride, improving to 25-for-37 (67%) on the season and a whopping 49-for-66 (74%) all-time in Las Vegas.

It’s the three-headed monster Austin had always planned on having but never really got going during the season. Gaffney says the lack of wins and momentum started to create some frustration in the locker room.

“You start to reach for things, you start to create things that are not there that are wrong,” he said. “And I told them, ‘Let’s step back here. Don’t create something that’s not there. This is bull riding. There’s always going to be something wrong. There’s always going to be these things that you go through, these peaks and valleys. We’ve just got to believe and keep pushing through. You guys are the best at what you do. Just remain in that space, because you belong here. Don’t create something that’s not there, and just ride through it.’

“And we’ve done that. We’ve come out the other side, and you will. You will come out the other side. Now, you’re hoping it’s sooner rather than later, but we came out the other side.”

The perseverance paid off, and the Gamblers finally have a gold buckle to celebrate.

“I feel euphoria,” Gaffney said. “Pure delight for the guys, because we’ve had a lot of funk this year. You never want to make excuses, but we’ve been through some funk. So for them to keep the faith and believe in themselves, and then have that little bit of a tough, tough go at it the first night to make it through the gauntlet, with Kaique clinching that for us… what’s the old saying? It’s not over until the fat lady sings.

At that, Gaffney laughed. “I don’t talk bad about fat ladies, but I’m sure glad that we’re where we’re at right now.”

Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media