Top 5 ride scores from 2024 PBR Teams Championship
T-Mobile Arena, PBR Teams athletes teamed up for one HELL of a weekend!
By James Youness
FORT WORTH, Texas – Exactly one week ago, the PBR Camping World Team Series invited its Top 8-ranked contingents to T-Mobile Arena for one of the most memorable showcases in Western sports.
Serving as the postseason’s end-all be-all, the 2024 PBR Teams Championship was arguably the most electric edition of 5-on-5 playoff action yet, featuring tons of upsets, several elite individual performances and one HELL of a Championship celebration.
Eventually seeing the No. 5 Austin Gamblers complete their historic run en route to knocking off both the No. 1 Kansas City Outlaws before sending home the No. 2 Carolina Cowboys, fans in Las Vegas were treated to quite the weekend slate of surprises.
And while there were a trio of Gamblers riders who managed Top 5 efforts in the tournament’s individual aggregate score competition, it was none other than Florida Freedom rookie John Crimber who earned his first Championship MVP just weeks after claiming the outright 2024 PBR Teams MVP from the regular season.
So, while the time has arrived to revisit some of the rankest rides from the star-studded showcase, fans will be reminded there wasn’t any one man who ran away with a specific crowd-capturing cadence. Crimber may have parlayed his flawless 4-for-4 into some additional hardware.
But with seven different cowboys going north of the elite 90-point mark, we’re giving the boys their flowers before we shift gears towards the quickly approaching 2025 Unleash The Beast campaign!
No. 5: 90.5 Points (Jose Vitor Leme x Feeds Red River, Cooper Davis vs. Hunting Trip, Brennon Eldred x Magic Hunter) What better way to start off a lookback at the rankest rides from the 2024 PBR Teams Championship than with a trio of top-tier scores? Quality rides could be seen left and right throughout the three-day postseason showcase, with a total of eight 90-pointers on display, the second-most in playoff history. Knowing Jose Vitor Leme, Cooper Davis and Brennon Eldred each went north of the mark, albeit en route to tying for the fifth-best score of the weekend means the baseline we’re working with is ELITE!
Representing the first of two conversions Leme logged aboard Feeds Red River, the two-time World Champion set the tone during the first game of the weekend with his standout effort. Eventually besting the same bull for 89 points, it was clear the two would play a big part in Austin’s eventual championship-capturing campaign. Running into Cooper Davis and the Carolina Cowboys when Saturday rolled around, Leme watched as the 2016 World Champion matched his 90.5-point score from the night prior, dancing with Hunting Trip for a quality out. And while his 90 is worth just as much on paper, the Cowboys didn’t have enough firepower to get by Austin, eventually relinquished to the final Last Chance Game of the weekend.
In similar fashion, Brennon Eldred of the Kansas City Outlawsturned in his first 90-pointer of the PBR Camping World Team Series, but unfortunately for the regular season champions, it was during a Championship Sunday semifinal loss to the Gamblers.
No. 4: 90.75 Points (John Crimber x Renegade) Talk about an MVP performance! Well, dual-wielding MVP, that is, as the 5-on-5 rookie put the finishing touches on his standout year one season by following up his outright 2024 PBR Teams MVP honors by adding a PBR Teams Championship MVP to his quickly growing collection. While the young 19-year-old went 4-for-4 on the weekend en route to adding to his PBR accolades, it was his 90.75-point go aboard Renegade which ultimately lands him on the Top 5 rides list.
And let us tell you, this one could’ve been graded a bit higher, as the kid was flashing around the arena with ease. Just like Eldred and Davis, however, the high-scoring strike came during a game where his Florida Freedom squad saw its flavorful fun come to an end, eventually dropping a 178.25-90.75 final in a game where Crimber was the only red, white and blue rider to convert. Which was essentially the story for Florida more nights than not. If they can drum up another rider who can consistently not only make the 8, but in flashy fashion, Florida will be a favorite to improve on their No. 4 finish.
No. 2: 91.25 Points (Cassio Dias x Mike’s Motive) While history often repeats itself, Man Hater wasn’t in Sin City last weekend, as much as fans would’ve loved to see the 2024 YETI World Champion bull get another chance to dance with 2024 World Champion Cassio Dias. So, the Outlaws’ superstar was forced to add to the record books during yet another showdown against Mike’s Motive, a bovine athlete he’s been paired with a few times in the past! Understanding his all-star entered the head-to-head challenge with a 3-for-4 record, having previously bested the athlete for 89, 90.5 and 91.25 points, Head Coach J.W. Hart knew exactly what he was doing when he let his closer get another shot at his familiar foe.
With his lone buckoff coming last year inside AT&T Stadium during the 2024 PBR World Finals – Unleash The Beast: Championship, Dias improved his career mark atop the bovine to a stunning 4-for-5 after being marked 91.25 points for his 8 seconds of greatness on Championship Sunday. The craziest part about him and Eldred going north of the 90-point mark during their semifinal game against the No. 5 Gamblers? It was the regular season champs and their 19-9 record which was sent to the Third Place Game, quite an unexpected landing spot for the momentous group.
No. 2: 91.25 Points (Mauricio Moreira x The Kraken) Only 13 men posted scores of 91 or higher throughout the four-month PBR Camping World Team Series. And when the 2024 PBR Teams Championship came to fruition, only three cowboys recorded such efforts, with Mauricio Moreira being one of the stars who were ready to put on a show!
Representing Moreira’s highest strike of the season, his 91.25 points awarded dancing with The Kraken now also serves as the highest score in New York Mavericks franchise history! Which shouldn’t surprise many folks, as the 25-year-old Brazilian has provided several of the squad’s flashiest efforts during their inaugural trip on tour. The Mavericks may have been bounced from their first postseason appearance at the end of Friday night, but the idea that they even qualified gives Moreira and company something to build on. Seeing the talent, himself, put up the second-highest scored ride of the weekend is a whole other platform to build, too.
No. 1: 92 Points (Dalton Kasel x Always Been Crazy) After watching Dalton Kasel become one of the most frequent riders to find the elite mark over the past few years, it’s only right the Muleshoe, Texas, native earned the nickname of “Mr. 90 Pointer,” as his small frame and aggressive riding style help him show off his bulls in a much flashier way than most guys on tour. And while his 2024 season, top to bottom, wasn’t the most productive of his summertime efforts riding with his green and black contingent (just 9-for-20 on the season), the Gamblers couldn’t have dreamed up a better scenario to see their star produce his flashiest effort of the season.
Teaming up with the likes of Jose Vitor Leme, Kaique Pacheco and Lucas Divino en route to defeating the Carolina Cowboys during Sunday’s Championship Game, Kasel recorded an ever-rank 92-point ride aboard Always Been Crazy to truly inject a shot of adrenaline into the eventual 2024 PBR Teams Champions. Tying the fifth-highest mark of his outright decorated career while serving as the second-highest score during his time competing in the 5-on-5 landscape, his epic strike was one HELL of an exclamation mark on what will go down as a historic season for the come-from-behind Gamblers. Of course, his bovine opponent held his own in the same right, scored a career-high 45 points for his quality bucking efforts.
