With the Top 8 separated by fewer than 320 Velocity Global points, all in contention for the Velocity Tour Championship, the field is led by No. 1 Afonso Quintino, who is 81.17 points ahead of No. 2 Bob Mitchell.
Among those Top 8 is reigning Velocity Tour Champion Grayson Cole, who returns to American Bank Center Arena in position to make history. Should Cole, currently ranked No. 6 in the standings, 263.5 points behind No. 1 Quintino, make a come-from-behind surge and win the 2025 title, he would become the first rider to win the Velocity Tour Championship multiple times, let alone in consecutive years in the tour’s 10-year history.
Thus far in 2025, Cole has registered an event win, in addition to an accompanying 11 Top 10 finishes.
The field also features five riders currently ranked inside the Top 20 in the race for the 2025 PBR World Championship. The contingent is led by current No. 3, John Crimber, and includes No. 6 Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, No. 11 Clay Guiton, No. 12 Leonardo Castro and No. 16 Anderson de Oliveira.
Crimber, a 19-year-old bull riding prodigy, returns to Corpus Christi keen to defend his title of Velocity Tour Finals Event Champion. Should Crimber repeat as the Velocity Tour Finals winner, he would become the first rider to win the prestigious event in consecutive seasons, and second to win it multiple times.
One rider earned a berth to the Velocity Tour Finals via their World Champion status. Reigning World Champion Cassio Dias will travel to Corpus Christi ready to compete at just his second event in 2025 since breaking his femur in early November at the season-launch Unleash The Beast event.
The championship event at American Bank Center Arena culminates a high-intensity season that began the first week of January and crisscrossed the country with 30 regular-season events held across four months, including 13 weekends with two events held simultaneously. Welcoming more than 360,000 fans throughout the season, the Velocity Tour hosted 18 sold-out event days, marking its most successful season in attendance since its inception in 2015.
Regarded as “The Championship before the Championship,” the Velocity Tour’s season-end event also represents the final opportunity for five riders to qualify to the sport’s most prestigious event, the PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast, which will feature a three-stage format for the second consecutive season. The World Finals will begin with Eliminations on May 8-11 in Fort Worth at Cowtown Coliseum, where 20 riders will earn direct berths to the Championship on May 17-18 at AT&T Stadium in nearby Arlington. Riders who do not advance will have one last chance to remain in world title race by competing at Ride For Redemption on May 14-15 at Cowtown Coliseum, which will award the final five berths to the Championship.
Quintino has been sensational all season long as he chases the 2025 PBR Velocity Tour Championship, and his first berth to the PBR World Finals.
The Brazilian newcomer has ridden his way to three event victories, and an additional seven Top 10 finishes.
Quintino is followed closely by No. 2 Mitchell who gained fast ground on his South American competitor in the final month of the season, collecting two event wins and an accompanying three Top 10 finishes throughout April.
2022 PBR Rookie of the Year Mitchell is hopeful that a strong showing in Corpus Christi will produce his fourth career PBR World Finals qualification.
The remainder of the Top 10 who are active and anticipated to compete at the 2025 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals includes: No. 3 Marcus Mast (-125.5 points); No. 4 Ethan Winckler (-208.5 points); No. 5 Aaron Williams (-217.33 points); No. 6 Cole (-263.5 points); No. 7 Michael Lane (-296 points); No. 8 Callum Miller (-319.75 points); No. 9 Wyatt Rogers (-341.5 points); and No. 10T Alex Cerqueira and Joao Lucas Campos (-345 points).
Throughout the 2025 PBR Velocity Tour Finals, riders will be competing for their share of the $100,000 event purse, and the titles of Velocity Tour Champion, which includes an added $50,000 bonus, and Velocity Tour Finals event winner. A maximum of 320 (not including ride score points) Velocity Global points will be available at the 2025 PBR Velocity Tour Finals, with 40 points awarded to each round winner, and 200 points to the top rider in the aggregate.
Riders will also earn points for their ride scores. Rides from 70-79.75 points will earn 7 points, 80-89.75 will earn 8 points and rides 90-99.75 will earn 9 bonus points. Should a rider register three 90-point rides, he would earn an additional 27 Velocity Global points, making one rider’s potential maximum points earned 347.
Two riders earned their spot at the 2025 Velocity Tour Finals via international invites. Anderson de Oliveira will ride for Brazil after finishing runner-up to the title in 2024, while Ashton Sahli will represent Canada following his fifth-place finish in their national standings last season. Last season Qynn Andersen (Koumala, Queensland, Australia) earned the international invite, subsequently competing at his career-first PBR World Finals where he covered the formidable Dana White’s Twisted Steel in the second round of Eliminations.
Of the two international invites, the top finisher will receive one of the available berths to the 2025 PBR World Finals. In 2017, Jose Vitor Leme earned this invite, which set forth a career which continues to reshape the PBR record books.
The complete list of qualifiers is:
Afonso Quintino (Sao Luis dos Montes Belos, Brazil)
Bob Mitchell (Steelville, Missouri)
Marcus Mast (Middlebury, Indiana)
Ethan Winckler (Winnie, Texas)
Aaron Williams (Pismo Beach, California)
Grayson Cole (New Ringgold, Pennsylvania)
Michael Lane (Tazewell, Virginia)
Callum Miller (Warwick, Queensland, Australia)
Wyatt Rogers (Hulbert, Oklahoma)
Alex Cerqueira (Iguatemi, Brazil)
Joao Lucas Campos (Porto Feliz, Brazil)
Ezekiel Mitchell (Rockdale, Texas)
Conner Halverson (Gordon, Nebraska)
Lucas Martins Costa (Frutal, Brazil)
Dawson Gleaves (Amarillo, Texas)
Flavio Zivieri (Balsamo, Brazil)
Trace Redd (Malad, Idaho)
Jaxton Mortensen (Chino Valley, Arizona)
Bruno Carvalho (Alvares Florence, Brazil)
Lucas Fideles Souza (Barnstable, Massachusetts)
Manoelito de Souza Junior (Itamira, Brazil)
Dalton Rudman (Wellington, Utah)
Leandro Zampollo (Pirassununga, Brazil)
Zane Cook (Fort Gibson, Oklahoma)
Brandon Chambers (Newport, North Carolina)
Guthrie Long (Pecos, Texas)
Eric Henrique Domingos (Perola, Brazil)
Eli Vastbinder (Statesville, North Carolina)
Guilherme Valleiras (Pirassununga, Brazil)
Jean Fernandes Pereira (Crixas, Brazil)
John Crimber (Decatur, Texas)
Jean Carlos Teodoro (Mirante Do Paranapanema, Brazil)
Junior Patrik Souza (Sonora, Brazil)
Carlos Andre de Oliveira (Ipameri, Brazil)
Pokey Houghton (St. George, Utah)
Ashton Sahli (Red Deer, Alberta, Canada)
Andy Guzman (Oakdale, California)
Eric Novoa (Vacaville, California)
Jeferson Silva (Pontese Laverda, Brazil)
Leonardo Castro (Cassilandia, Brazil)
Anderson de Oliveira (Novo Mundo, Brazil)
Paulo Eduardo Rossetto (Colorado, Brazil)
Cassio Dias (Sao F. de Sales, Brazil)
Clay Guiton (Cherryville, North Carolina)
Forty-four of the world’s best bull riders will get on one bull each in Round 1 on Friday, May 2, followed by Round 2 on Saturday, May 3. At the conclusion of the second round, the riders’ individual two-round scores will be totaled with the Top 10 advancing to the championship round for one more out and a chance at being crowned the 2025 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Champion and Finals event winner.
Tickets are still available and start at $15, taxes and fees not included. Tickets can be purchased online at PBR.com and Ticketmaster.com, at the American Bank Center Arena Box Office, or by calling PBR customer service at 1-800-732-1727.
Season tickets providing the best seats inside American Bank Center Arena with daily access to the PBR Velocity Tour Finals (May 2-3) and Rodeo Corpus Christi (May 6-10) can be purchased at BucDays.com.
PBR Elite Seats are available for avid fans who want an exclusive VIP experience while enjoying the world’s top bull riding circuit. These tickets, available in three tiers, offer premium seats, personal on-site concierge at the PBR fan loyalty booth, and more. For more information on elite seats, call 1-800-732-1727, or to purchase, visit ticketmaster.com.
For more information about the PBR and the 2025 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour schedule, visit PBR.com.
Stay tuned to PBR.com for the latest news and results, and be sure to follow the sport on all social media platforms at @PBR.
Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media
