The New York Mavericks won four of their first 19 games. Then they won their next four, beginning with a victory over the reigning PBR Teams Champion Carolina Cowboys in Anaheim and continuing with a three-game sweep at Cowboy Days.

New York arrived in Greensboro at 5-15. Victories over Florida on Friday, Arizona on Saturday and Texas on Sunday sent the Mavericks out of North Carolina at 8-15.

Call the first one an upset. By the fourth, maybe it’s time to find another word.

Marco Rizzo was the common thread. The 2026 PBR Rookie of the Year contributed a qualified ride in every victory. Against Carolina, Leandro Zampollo and Bob Mitchell supplied the first two scores before Rizzo finished the scoring. That victory gave New York something to carry into Greensboro.

Friday, the Mavericks nearly gave it back. Through four frames against Florida, New York had no score. Four riders had bucked off, leaving Rizzo as its final chance. He covered High Caliber for 88.75 points, with the bull marked 43.05. Florida finished 0-for-5, and one qualified ride was enough.

Saturday required help. Mauricio Gulla Moreira delivered an 87.50-point re-ride on Whiplash, marked 42.55, while Rizzo added 76.75 points on Nervous Hospital, marked 37.70. Arizona managed one score for 88.15 points. Neither New York ride would have been enough alone. Together, they gave the Mavericks 164.25 points and another victory.

There was nothing spectacular about a 76.75, and there didn’t need to be. That is the Team Series: Sometimes the ride that matters isn’t the biggest one; it is the one your team cannot win without.

Then came Texas.

By Sunday, New York was no longer waiting for one rider to save the game. Mitchell covered Snake Eyes for 88.00 points, with the bull marked 42.80, and Afonso Quintino followed with 89.45 on Bruise Whacked, marked 43.00. Rizzo then added a game-high 89.75 on Cookie, marked 43.80, as New York defeated the 2023 PBR Teams Champion Texas Rattlers 267.20-89.00.

The progression told the story: one qualified ride Friday, two Saturday and three Sunday. Zampollo and Mitchell mattered in Anaheim. Moreira mattered Saturday. Mitchell and Quintino mattered Sunday. Rizzo contributed throughout, but New York was beginning to give itself more than one way to win.

The Mavericks were doing it without a full roster, too. Hudson Bolton, the 2025 PBR Rookie of the Year and 2026 PBR World Finals Champion, remained on injured reserve after a broken jaw required surgery. His absence was significant, but New York could not wait for everybody to get healthy. A return could strengthen the lineup; it could not take credit for what the available riders had already accomplished.

There is still plenty of work ahead. New York remained tied with Kansas City at 8-15 and behind the Outlaws on total team points, with Florida and Oklahoma only one win ahead. The record accounts for everything the Mavericks have done this season. It does not mean the next opponent should expect the same team that struggled through those first 19 games.

The PBR Team Series takes a week off before returning Oct. 2-4 for Rattler Days presented by Germania Insurance, the Texas Rattlers’ home event at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. With four regular-season stops remaining, New York gets a chance to rest before trying to carry this stretch into the next arena.

What worked at Cowboy Days gives the Mavericks something specific to carry forward: contributions throughout the lineup and the ability to win without waiting for a perfect performance.

It is one thing to surprise somebody when almost nobody expects you to win. It is another to arrive at the next stop with a sweep behind you and a reason for opponents to take a second look.

New York has given them that reason. At Rattler Days, the Mavericks get their next chance to make the word “upset” harder to use.

Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media