T-Mobile Arena, PBR Teams athletes teamed up for one HELL of a weekend once more!
By James Youness
FORT WORTH, Texas – From South Point Arena to T-Mobile Arena, the PBR Camping World Team Series invaded Sin City for five epic nights of camaraderie-driven action. And while most of the tour’s riders, partners, workers and beyond are waking up in their own homes for the first time Tuesday morning, there’s a part of us that wouldn’t mind running it back this weekend.
Which shares a bit of sentiment about how much the PBR Teams landscape has come to mean to fans are the world. At the same time, lends an idea to how ELECTRIC last weekend’s set of events truly were.
Surprises everywhere we looked, nobody was counting the No. 5 Austin Gamblers out of contention by any means.
But in a season where the likes of John Crimber, Cassio Dias, Brady Fielder and friends sat atop the headlines as some of the hottest guys on tour, it was Dalton Kasel who recorded the highest-scored ride of the weekend.
Teaming up with Jose Vitor Leme, Kaique Pacheco, Ramon de Lima and Lucas Divino to get the job done, it was the Austin Gamblerswho prevailed as the 2024 PBR Teams Champions.
Spicy stars and rank rides everywhere we looked, it would be simple to say tens of thousands of fans from around the world. So, instead, we’ll dig into eight of the biggest reasons why we believe the 2024 PBR Teams Championship will always be one to remember!
No. 1: Curse of the No. 1 Seed? We suppose this is more of a question than a formal takeaway, but it’s hard not to look past the circuit’s regular season champs in the Kansas City Outlaws coming up short, who brought plenty of victories and momentum into the season-culminating showdown. However, when Sunday’s set of semifinal games came to a conclusion, the Outlaws saw their run halted, as they eventually dropped a head-to-head showdown with the Austin Gamblers. Which means the league’s top dawgs are now 0-3 in attempting to seal the deal after taking home the regular season title.
Not to single out the orange and black squad, as the Gamblers found themselves in similar company during each of the first two PBR Teams Championship showcases. But when you exit the 12-event slate with a bye game and a journey to duel the highest-ranked seeds throughout the entire tournament, teams HAVE to learn how to close things out. Maybe in 2025, that is!
No. 2: Trades = Trying We’re not necessarily saying that teams who haven’t been in the regular mix of PBR Camping World Team Series squads willing to mix up personnel haven’t had the same chance to win it all as units who regularly find themselves swapping – But the flexibility and idea that some general managers are willing to “risk it for the biscuit” more than others means they may be giving their respective teams a leg-up in the long run.
It’s not crazy that two teams who were either extremely active or involved in a blockbuster trade this season made it to the finals. Those two teams involve the 2024 PBR Teams Champion Austin Gamblers and Carolina Cowboys. While the Cowboys have executed several trades over their first three seasons en route to serving as the tour’s juggernaut throughout the 2024 regular season slate, sometimes it’s pays to pay up. Knowing the Gamblers acquired Kaique Pacheco ahead of the third season of 5-on-5 fun means the team knew its goal was to win it all – and, naturally, adding the 2018 World Champion seemed to increase their odds of capturing said hardware.
The Cowboys, who have acquired the likes of Sage Steele Kimzey, Josh Frost and other heavy-hitters over the years, haven’t been afraid to shake things up. And when you consider they made it to their first Championship Game on Sunday, the all-star acquisitions seem to be getting them closer to their goal.
No. 3: Vegas Vibes Vegas knows a good time and we couldn’t think of a better place to host the season-culminating postseason slate. Especially after seeing how much PBR fans have enjoyed Sin City over the years. Add in some flashy jerseys, the best bull riders in the world and one HELL of an atmosphere inside T-Mobile Arena and it’s easy why the Strip continues to host the grandest of showdowns.
Good times were had. Fancy food, delicious drinks and endless entertainment was consumed while fans embraced a full spectrum of weather out west. Big scores were witnessed and rank rides recorded. And it’s only fitting the “all in” Gamblers squad finally completed their run in the land of gaming. When you’ve got cards in your logo and the term “gamble” in your name, you’re going to invite a bit of fun into the fold.
No. 4: Ride-In Round Drama When it comes to drama, we’re not just talking about the PBR Teams Championship itself, either, as the tour’s first-ever Ride-In Round was equally dramatic and awesome. Hell, it set the tone for the weekend, seeing both the Arizona Ridge Riders and Oklahoma Wildcatters see their offseason come a few days earlier than anticipated while seeing the likes of the Nashville Stampede and New York Mavericks punch their last-minute tickets to the postseason.
And while most of the tour was calling Park MGM and Aria home base a few miles north, there’s something special about the sparkle South Point brings to the table each season. Maybe it’s the close competition quarters the pack is forced to endure. Perhaps it’s breaking away from the strip for a few nights and drumming up some shenanigans with friends and family. We know 100% the vibes were high heading in four all 10 teams – But when the field was reduced down to eight and the stage was set for the 2024 PBR Team Championship, it became very apparent the “win or go home” four-way showdown was JUST the enticing kickoff event the tour needed.
No. 5: MVP X MVP The best way to follow up one’s first-ever PBR Teams MVP honors? Claiming your first Championship MVP title en route to recording the highest aggregate score on the weekend. And while John Crimber would likely trade both of those feats in order for his Florida Freedom to have earned the 2024 PBR Teams Championship buckle, we’ve still got to celebrate the rookie’s standout postseason effort.
No. 6: Wide-Open Windows Knowing the No. 5 seed Austin Gamblers completed their heroic run reinforced the idea that teams can win from any of the 8 postseason seeds. Of course, this merely served as a reminder after seeing the Nashville Stampede win it all from the No. 8 spot back in 2022. Parity was alive and well throughout the entire 2024 season and refused to stop playing a role when the playoffs arrived.
Hell, the expansion unit New York Mavericks qualified for the postseason during their inaugural campaign, while seeing an established unit from Arizona and the youthful Oklahoma Wildcatters be sent home before the magic even began. In refreshing fashion, the third PBR Teams season ended with the tour’s third different champion, which means championship windows for each of the league’s 10 teams remain wide open for 2025.
When the tour resumes next summer, each unit will collectively be another year older, yet another year closer. New rookies will enter and some of the tour’s veterans will continue to age-out or opt into retirement, meaning the equation of competition windows will forever be shifting for franchises around the circuit.
No. 7: Ready to Ride When the league’s eight teams loaded into T-Mobile Arena Friday afternoon, you could tell the teams were locked in and ready to go. But digging a layer deeper reveals several of the tour’s top-performing bull riders were showing up with a vengeance, set to remind fans they’ll be ready to pick things up in an epic way when the individual Unleash The Beast campaign begins in a few weeks. With four different riders recording four qualified rides over the weekend, it became apparent the 2025 slate will be filled with tons of standout efforts. But while the boys had a few extra reasons to ride in Sin City, their skillsets were on full display.
Cooper Davis, John Crimber, Kaique Pacheco and Jose Vitor Leme were amongst the pack of standouts who each logged four conversions in T-Mobile Arena. And with Dalton Kasel, Koltin Hevalow and Derek Kolbaba making the 8 three teams apiece, we’re suddenly even more pumped for the premier series sessions to begin!
Overall, the pack exited 57-of-130 matchups (43.9% ride percentage) with successful strides as cowboys gave their all in putting on one HELL of season-culminating show. But with Leme, Pacheco and Kasel occupying three of the Top 5 spots in the Championship MVP race, it was the Gamblers who ultimately prevailed, besting 15 of their 25 bovine athletes, eventually covering 60% of their bulls. Talk about putting a shiny bow on what was a bit of a roller coaster effort for Austin!
No. 8: So Long, Silvano While last weekend’s event was created to crown and celebrate the 2024 PBR Teams Champion, there was another sizable announcement that made its way to the mainstream, as three-time World Champion Silvano Alves announced his riding career was over after seeing his Stampede eliminated on Friday night.
Which brought a few tears to the eyes of fans, riders, staff and the man himself a few times throughout the weekend. While it was his best friend Kaique Pacheco which ultimately ended the Brazilian star’s career (as Pacheco helped the Gamblers win the first Last Chance Game of the tournament, thus sending the Stampede and Mavericks packing), it didn’t stop him from taking the stage on Championship Sunday alongside his family to receive the flowers he’s very much deserved.
And while we’ll never be able to replace a man like Alves, and all he’s done for PBR over the years, the Stampede are excited to welcome him to the squad’s coaching staff, as his wisdom will serve as the team’s “sixth rider” for seasons to come. On a similar retirement note, Kansas City Outlaws’ veteran Brennon Eldred also announced the competition would be his last, as he rides off into the sunset with some additional PBR Teams memories under his belt.
