LAS VEGAS – It’s amazing how much can change over the course of a year.

Some 365 days ago, a man by the name of Alan de Souza captured the 2023 Challenger Series Championship, thus putting a cap on the veteran’s standout return to the dirt in a BIG way.

Of course at that point, most fans likely knew him as the brother to one Alisson de Souza, who spent the first season of PBR Camping World Team Series drinking milkshakes and riding bulls for the Arizona Ridge Riders.

But when a man is able to grind himself to the top of the expansion tour leaderboard, it says a lot more about that man himself and less about those around him.

However, knowing a rising superstar in John Crimber made some noise as a fresh 18-year-old last time the tour invaded South Point Arena in fall of 2023, it was said talent that may have stolen the show.

Partially because the industry had been waiting to see him make his first big appearance — And half in part to, well, he kind of showed up and showed out, winning the Challenger Series Finals event title outright while announcing his arrival. All while punching his berth to what became a career-first Unleash The Beast berth.

Eventually taking in the rest of the weekend inside the Ridge Riders’ locker room (as his father, Paulo Crimber, was the team’s technical coach for the series' first two seasons), Crimber soaked up as much as he could while continuing to interact with the guys he'd always looked up to, growing up in locker rooms around the country back when his dad was riding, himself.

Fast forward to this weekend’s festivities in Las Vegas: Crimber has already clinched his 2024 PBR Teams MVP honors as the hottest rider on tour competing with the Florida Freedom, while Souza continues to perform in a leading role for his Nashville Stampede alongside the legendary Silvano Alves.

While Souza is set to dance with Rittenhouse Wednesday night as he looks to drum up some momentum ahead of his appearance during Thursday’s Ride-In Round, Crimber won’t be riding in this year’s Challenger Series Championship, as he’s got a date set to represent his red, white and blue Freedom squad inside T-Mobile Arena during the 2024 PBR Teams Championship Oct. 18-20.

Which brings us to Thursday night’s finale inside South Point Arena: the ever-anticipated Ride-In Round.

Set to decide the final two seeds for the 2024 PBR Teams Championship, each of the Arizona Ridge Riders, Nashville Stampede, New York Mavericks and Oklahoma Wildcatters will battle it out in the league’s first-ever four-way competition – The final 20 outs that separate the circuit from its third postseason slate in Sin City.

And with the epic showcase set to take place immediately after the conclusion of this year’s Challenger Series Championship on Thursday, Oct. 17, there are PLENTY of reasons to stick around tomorrow night to see the enticing “win or go home” session play itself out.

But before we get that far, we’ve got to crown the 2024 Challenger Series Champion — Exactly what the 40 men riding on Wednesday night are showing up for!

Featuring plenty of PBR Teams regulars, a healthy mix of tour veterans and several promising up-and-coming talents, Wednesday night’s draw remains star-studded and is primed to set the tone for one of the biggest weekends of the year.

Heading into the event, a trio of international talents currently sit atop the Challenger Global standings. But with Nick Tetz (set to compete for the Arizona Ridge Riders this weekend) opting out of competition in order to stay fresh for Thursday’s Ride-In Round and Cody Coverchuk doctoring out, surging Brazilian standout Anderson de Oliveira (who rides for the Nashville Stampede) represents the top-ranked competitor in the No. 3 spot, albeit 114.84 points behind Coverchuk in the Challenger Global standings.

Knowing there’s a maximum of 298 points available to any one rider who’s able to sweep both rounds of competition with 90-point strikes en route to claiming the event aggregate, Oliveira and any cowboy with at least 448 Challenger Global points to their name remains in the hunt (meaning there are 10 men with a chance to win it all!)

With this week’s showdown serving as just the third-ever Challenger Series Championship, it was Keyshawn Whitehorse who won the inaugural showcase back in 2022 just days before helping his Arizona Ridge Rides make a run to Championship Sunday during the league’s first postseason gauntlet.

The two-day, two-round event will welcome 40 cowboys to South Point Arena Wednesday night. However, when Thursday’s finale rolls around, only the Top 20-performing riders from Round 1 will return to competition for the 20-man short round, where the 2024 Challenger Series Champion will be crowned.

Nearly 20 riders currently rostered in the 5-on-5 series are set to compete Wednesday night, including the likes of Ezekiel Mitchell, Alan de Souza, Eric Henrique Domingos, Bob Mitchell, Andrei Scoparo, Guilherme Valleiras, Alex Cerqueira, Paulo Henrique da Silva, Ednelio Almeida, Maikon Calixton Rocha, Julio Cesar Marques, Elizmar Jeremias, Afonso Quintino, Wyatt Rogers, Dustin Herman, Claudio Montanha Jr., Qynn Andersen, Carlos André de Oliveira and Anderson de Oliveira.

Should any of the men set to compete in Thursday’s Ride-In Round qualify for Round 2 of the Challenger Series Championship hail from the Arizona Ridge Riders, Nashville Stampede, New York Mavericks or Oklahoma Wildcatters, they’ll potentially be pulling double duty.

Sure, the boys know there are cash prizes associated with round wins, the event title and for the tour champion, himself.

But there’s a lot more on the line this weekend, as the Top 5 riders ranked in the Challenger Global standings at the end of Thursday night will earn a spot at the first four events of the quickly approaching 2025 Unleash The Beast season.

Not to mention showing up and showing out in front of several different PBR Camping World Team Series team executives and owners who will likely be in attendance.

Fans can stay tuned to PBR.com, PBR+ and @PBR social media channels for the latest news, league updates and beyond. And be sure to catch all of this year’s Challenger Series Championship and Ride-In Round action exclusively on PBR+!

With the 2024 Challenger Series Championship set to kick off PBR’s ever-dramatic, five-day showcase in Las Vegas, Nevada, let’s take a look at who’s drawing into opening night lineups inside South Point Arena Wednesday, Oct. 16:

ROUND 1 MATCHUPS
Ezekiel Mitchell vs. Always Been Crazy
Alan de Souza vs. Rittenhouse
Eric Henrique Domingos vs. Rombauer
Weston Davidson vs. Black Fury
Ramon Fiorini de Souza vs. Twisted J
Zane Monnett vs. Sucker Pop
Vinicius Pinheiro Correa vs. Cool Hand Franky
Brandon Chambers vs. Firewater
Bob Mitchell vs. PIF
Andrei Scoparo vs. The CEO
Elijah Monnett vs. Uncle Jim
Zane Hall vs. Hay Ring
Guilherme Valleiras vs. Spendin’ Cash
Vitor Manoel Dias vs. Triple Aught
Cody McCandless vs. Mercy
Alex Cerqueira vs. Sweet Moves
Paulo Henrique da Silva vs. Reality Check
Ednelio Almeida vs. Electric Kitty
Maikon Calixton Rocha vs. Buck Nasty
Jake Morinec vs. Fire Magic
Lance Lara vs. Yahoo
Christian Clay Oliveira vs. Abracadabra
Elizmar Jeremias vs. The Intimidator
Afonso Quintino vs. It’s Cherry
Wyatt Rogers vs. Fire Zone
Dustin Herman vs. Vigilante
Frederico Araujo Margarido vs. The Colonel
William Wright vs. Aviator
Claudio Montanha Jr. vs. Chateau Montelena’s Montana Jacket
Qynn Andersen vs. Rip
Miguel de Jesus vs. Let’s Roll
Matt Allgood vs. King of Spades
Gilmar Santana vs. King Tut
Emerson Lopes vs. Whiskey Business
Julio Cesar Marques vs. Gene’s Best
Carlos Andre de Oliveira vs. TBR’s Buffalo Joe
Cleber Henrique Marques vs. Coach
Dustin Martinez vs. Powerstroke
Rogerio Venancio vs. The Paint
Anderson de Oliveira vs. Fast Flow

2024 PBR BRAZIL CHAMPION ROGERIO VENANCIO SET TO MAKE U.S. DEBUTNot every single PBR Brazil Champion is going to be able to make their stateside trip and find success. But after seeing Jose Vitor Leme and Cassio Dias parlay their South American success into their own PBR World Championship efforts in stunning fashion, fans have been reminded just how potent the Brazilian athletes can be. Further more, how much the P R Brazil circuit is truly warming up the future all-world talents in its own right. So, when the lights draw low and the United States National Anthem is played inside South Point Arena, 2024 PBR Brazil Champ Rogério Venâncio will be moments away from making his stateside debut.

Ending his productive 2024 campaign with a tour-pacing 26-for-32 effort, there's more than a fair chance we see the 23-year-old creep into early 2025 PBR Teams New Rider Draft big boards. If he's able to make some noise Wednesday night in Sin City, there's a chance fans get used to seeing the talent around, as he's quickly become a candidate for Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour events this winter. While he's too far behind in the Challenger Global standings to pull of what would be an insane Challenger Series Championship feat, he's going to get his fair shot at winning his first Challenger Series event title, which would be one hell of a start to would could become a legendary career.

Knowing the bull power is going to be REAL for both nights of action means there's also a good chance the kid needs some time getting used to what a truly effort looks and feels like. But having recorded three 90s during his PBR Brazil season, we've got a feeling he understands what it will take to get the job done.

FOLLOW ALONG
This week’s 2024 Challenger Series Championship in Las Vegas, Nevada, is set to begin Wednesday, Oct. 16 at 7 p.m. PDT inside South Point Arena as the top-ranked Challenger Global athletes prepare to duke it out for one final time in 2024.

With competition set to conclude Thursday, Oct. 17 at 7 p.m. MDT, the top-performing 20 cowboys from Wednesday’s go will return to South Point Arena for the final round of Challenger Series action. From there, the PBR Camping World Team Series takes over, with the league’s first-ever Ride-In Round set to take place immediately following the conclusion of the Challenger Series Championship.

Fans can tune into PBR+ beginning at 7 p.m. PDT on Wednesday, Oct. 16 to take in all of the Challenger Series Championship action. Supporters can catch the second night of Challenger Series Championship competition on PBR+ beginning at 7 p.m. PDT on Thursday, Oct. 17 as well, with the first-ever Ride-In Round set to follow immediately, also on PBR+!

Fans can keep an eye on PBR.com and @PBR social media channels for the latest news, scores, wrecks and more! And be sure to download the Merit+ App and sign up for PBR+ to watch all of this weekend’s exclusive action!

Photo courtesy of Josh Homer/Bull Stock Media