ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – For as entertaining as this year’s Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by Camping World, has been, it’s doesn’t exactly offer a 1:1 preview as to what fans can expect during this summer’s 5-on-5 circuit.
The format differs a bit. Coaches may be away scouting or prepping for the approaching season rather than atop the chutes, leading the charge.
And some of the guys typically starring in the 5-on-5 landscape just aren’t around this time of the year.
Given the showdowns are a mere addition to Unleash The Beast’s epic presence in its own right, guys know they’re competing for a World Championship on their own terms, even if the opening round can have some team-building implications.
However, two of the few elements which have seemed to exist in both worlds come in the form of Austin Gamblers’ domination and some lingering, yet energetic, drama.
Having won two of the summer series’ three regular season championships to date, not to mention the outright 2024 PBR Teams Championship last season, men sporting the Gamblers crest have been dealing more often than folding.
And while the two-time PBR Teams MVP in Jose Vitor Leme didn’t quite make his way back into the lineup Friday night in Albuquerque, New Mexico, his team continued to prove why it’s always a good time to be wearing green and black.
For as loaded of a roster that Austin continues to field, the contingent actually dropped the best-of-three series opener between the rivalrous squads earlier this year in Houston, Texas, 350.25-172.25.
Which isn’t that crazy, given the Texas Rattlers are the most recent team to claim honors inside T-Mobile Arena prior to Austin’s run last season.
Just another reason the Gamblers knew they had to even the series inside The Pit Friday night, thus forcing a decisive Game 3 April 18 in Nampa, Idaho.
“What a collection of guys and talent. All studies of the game and they all come with that ‘iron will.’ To be able to be with these guys, not so much as a leader, but to be with them, is a real treat for me,” Head Coach Michael Gaffney shared with Kate Harrison via PBR’s YouTube livestream.
“The character of these men – and I gotta say, J.J. Gottsch (Austin’s general manager) has been so instrumental coming in here as a baseball guy and just really going after the guys that him and I talk about. And he’s obviously recognizing what type of talent is out there and what they can do in the arena. He’s been a study of the game himself, so my hat’s off to him."
Entering Friday’s showcase with four different riders ranked inside the Top 11 of the Unleash The Beast world standings, Gaffney and his gang were sporting the likes of No. 1 Dalton Kasel, No. 3 Sage Steele Kimzey No. 8 Kaique Pacheco and No. 11 Lucas Divino atop the depth charts.
Quite the star-studded lineup.
But on this night, it was a veteran known as Ramon “Freakin” de Lima who donned the cape and played hero for the defending Champions.
Earning Austin the ever-slightest of victories over the Rattlers, it was his 87.25-point conversion atop Baldy which served as the game-winning ride.
Representing his first premier series conversion of the season, the 34-year-old used his 8-second dance to tie for fifth-place honors after being crowned the unofficial man of the match.
Featuring just two qualified rides in total, a fellow veteran in Joao Ricardo Vieira provided the Rattlers’ lone conversion. And with the mark coming in at a flat 87, Texas finds itself entering a final shootout with its in-state rivals next month.
The fourth season of PBR Camping World Team Series action may be a few months away, still.
But with the league recently revealing the 2025 PBR Teams Rider Draft will be taking place in Austin, Texas, May 20, it’s clear the camaraderie-driven action is right around the corner.
Following their game in Albuquerque, the Rattlers and Gamblers will play the final Land.com Texas Cup game of the 2025 Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by Camping World, April 18 in Nampa, Idaho.\
And after proving his worth once more, you'd have to imagine Lima is back in the fold in three short weeks!
