Jose Vitor Leme Getty Pro Bull Riding PBR
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The PBR Team Series Championship weekend is starting Friday morning at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas as the inaugural season wraps up. Based on how close the top teams are in the standings, it should be a competitive few days. Fans can catch all the action on CBS Sports Network. 

The playoffs will follow the same five-on-five, head-to-head format that was used through the regular season. The main difference this weekend is that two teams will be eliminated each day. There will also be "Last Chance" games for teams that lose in the first two rounds. The "Last Chance" games format will be a three-team, five-on-five matchup. The winner returns to the arena the following night. 

The Austin Gamblers finished the season at the top of the standings with a 16-12 record. The Texas Rattlers and the Oklahoma Freedom have the same record, but the Gamblers won the tiebreaker. They earned the No. 1 seed and a first-round bye heading into Las Vegas. No. 2 Texas also earned a first-round bye.

There will be plenty of riders to keep an eye on, but two-time PBR World Champion Jose Vitor Leme from the Gamblers is a must-watch. The former Brazilian soccer player switched sports at the age of 18, and so far it's been worth it. Leme was the league's first ever No. 1 draft pick, and went on to win the MVP honor of the inaugural PBR Team Series season.

Here is everything you need to know for the PBR Team Series Championship weekend:

TV Schedule

First round matchups

  • No. 3 Oklahoma (16-12) vs. No. 8 Nashville (7-20-1)
  • No. 4 Carolina Cowboys (15-13) vs. No. 7 Kansas City Outlaws (12-16)
  • No. 5 Arizona Ridge Riders (14-12-1) vs. No. 6 Missouri (13-15)
  • Byes: No. 1 Austin (16-12) | No. 2 Texas (16-12)

PBR Team Series final regular-season standings:

  1. Austin Gamblers, 16-12-0 (won tiebreaker)
  2. Texas Rattlers, 16-12-0
  3. Oklahoma Freedom, 16-12-0
  4. Carolina Cowboys, 15-13-0
  5. Arizona Ridge Riders, 14-13-1
  6. Missouri Thunder, 13-15-0
  7. Kansas City Outlaws, 12-16-0
  8. Nashville Stampede, 7-20-1

Riders to watch

Jose Vitor Leme - Austin Gamblers

The two-time PBR World Champion was the No. 1 draft pick and has certainly lived up to it. He went 19-for-25 for the Gamblers (16-12), for a 76% riding percentage and was named the inaugural PBR Team Series season MVP. Leme helped his team earn the No. 1 seed by singlehandedly winning four games with fifth-frame walk-off rides.

Derek Kolbaba - Oklahoma Freedom

After Freedom lost two-time World Champion Jess Lockwood for the season because of a torn left PCL, No. 9 draft pick Kolbaba stepped up to help his team with four walk-off rides, which tied him with Leme for the most in the league.

Daylon Swearingen - Carolina Cowboys

Swearingen is the star rider for the Cowboys, who acquired him through a trade with the Texas Rattlers on the night of the draft. The 2022 PBR World Champion finished No. 2 in the MVP race, going 17-for-28 this season, including two 90-point rides. The Cowboys are owned by NASCAR legend Richard Childress, who says Swearingen "could become the Dale Earnhardt for the Carolina Cowboys."

Alisson de Souza - Arizona Ridge Ridgers

Three Ridge Riders finished the regular season ranked among the top 10 in the MVP race, and Souza -- a free agent signing --was one of them. He went 3-for-3 during the Tryon Chute Out preseason event and recorded qualified rides in five of his first seven regular season appearances. On a fun note, Souza is a big fan or strawberry milkshakes, so the Ridge Riders bring him one ahead of each event. He compared it to Popeye with spinach.

Daniel Keeping - Texas Rattlers

Keeping broke his leg last June, but was a force to reckon with this season even though he still had some limitations. He went 9-for-12 and had one of the season's best-scored rides with 92.5 points on Blue Duck at PBR Rattler Days in Ft. Worth, TX.