TACOMA, Wash. – The Missouri Thunder didn’t take the easy road to a championship.
They took the long one. The chaotic one. The kind that tests every ride, every decision, and every ounce of belief inside a locker room.

And by the time it ended inside the Tacoma Dome on April 24, they had something to show for it.

The Thunder defeated the Austin Gamblers 254.75-171.35 to win the 2026 Monster Energy Team Challenge Championship, going 3-for-7 on the night and delivering in the final out to secure the title.

But it didn’t start in Tacoma.

It started weeks earlier with a moment that proved this team could close.

On the road to the championship, Missouri eliminated the 2025 PBR Teams regular-season champion Florida Freedom in extra outs, won by Felipe Furlan, who covered Little Rip for 83.65 points. It was a pressure situation. A must-convert moment.

Missouri delivered.

That set the tone heading into the championship—and it only intensified days before the final.

In a move that shifted the entire dynamic of the roster, Missouri traded away their veteran presence and team captain Andrew Alvidrez the week of the championship in Tacoma. It left a hole in the locker room—but riders stepped up and filled it..

The Thunder leaned into the energy, trusting the work they’d put in, and moved forward together—every guy pulling in the same direction, like a seven-passenger van rolling toward the same destination.

Missouri carried that mindset straight into the first out.

Lead-off man Paulo Eduardo Rossetto wasted no time setting the tone. The ambidextrous Brazilian opted to go left-handed aboard Real Deal and delivered 87.15 points to start off the game.

It gave Missouri the early lead.
It energized the bench.

And it fired up Ross Coleman, who fed right into the moment as the Thunder grabbed immediate control.

“When you put out effort like Paulo does at first, we finish strong like we do,” Coleman said.

The second out didn’t add points, but it reinforced exactly what this team is about.

Macaulie Leather’s turn came, and after a broken jaw in Tallahassee that left him trailing blood to the locker room, he still tried his heart out. He nodded for Wreck It Ralph and was bucked off in 5.12 seconds, walking off covered in dirt with a few flesh wounds—another example of the toughness he brings every time he nods.

No score, but the effort showed.

“Even the buckoffs on our team today… it wasn’t for lack of effort,” Ross Coleman said afterward.

Missouri still held the lead.

The championship didn’t slow down from there.

Austin struggled early, with buckoffs from Lucas Divino aboard Big Timber and Eric Novoa aboard Alakazoo, keeping the Gamblers off the board through the opening stretch.

They finally broke through in the third out.

Vinicius Pinheiro Correa matched up with Taco Truck and barely held on for 83.35 points. The ride went to review before being ruled qualified, putting the Gamblers—the 2024 PBR Teams Champions—on the board.

It cut into Missouri’s lead.

But it didn’t shift control.

That came down to the next key moment.

In the fifth out, Vinicius Rodrigues Pereira climbed aboard Keystone and delivered one of the grittiest rides of the night. Taking heavy contact throughout the eight seconds—at the dismount, if you could call it that, getting sat on by the bull—Rodrigues Pereira endured the punishment and still managed 82.35 points.

The score extended Missouri’s lead and forced Austin into a must-convert position late—exactly the kind of moment that defines a championship.

It also reflected what Ross Coleman has seen time and time again. Having spent time in Brazil, Coleman has witnessed that work ethic firsthand, and when those riders come to America, that same effort carries over—and spreads. It builds a contagious momentum across the team, the kind that runs through an entire lineup.

The game came down to the final two outs.

Austin had one last chance.

Callum “Chips” Miller, the man from Down Under, stepped in needing a big ride—and delivered. He covered Frankenstomp for 88 points, the highest score of the dual, pushing the Gamblers into the lead at 171.35.

For the first time all night, Missouri trailed.

One out remained.

One ride would decide the championship.

Missouri turned to a rider who hadn’t been part of the roster a week earlier.

Julio Cesar Marques.

In the span of a month, Marques had gone from the New York Mavericks to the Texas Rattlers, and now stood in a Missouri Thunder vest with everything on the line. The former skateboarder from Brazil climbed aboard Kinky Brahmer knowing exactly what was required.

One qualified ride.

He delivered.

Marques posted 85.25 points to seal the championship, finishing the game at 254.75 and walking it off for Missouri.

Hats flew into the arena.

His signature backflip followed.

And on the dirt, the reaction told the rest of the story.

The smile on Mason Taylor.
The grin from head coach Ross Coleman.
The satisfaction on general manager Luke Snyder’s face.

They had finished it—and you could see the chip on their shoulder come off all at once.

Missouri had been here before.

In 2025, they reached the PBR Teams Championship against the Carolina Cowboys and lost by one ride. In Tacoma, they flipped the outcome.

They didn’t leave it to chance.

They closed. Slamming the door.

By Tuesday, April 28, the Thunder made it official—signing Julio Cesar Marques to their 2026 PBR Teams roster. He earned his camo and is set for the 2026 season.

The celebration started before that.

Friday night, Missouri stood on top of the shark cage at center stage, drinking Monster out of the trophy as the arena cheered around them.