The sprint to the 2026 PBR Teams Championship (Nov. 6-8) raged on Friday night as teams embraced the final three-day showcase of the 2026 regular season with plenty of opening night rides and even more postseason implications as the PBR Teams standings continued to shuffle.

By beating the Carolina Cowboys (19-14), the Gamblers (20-13) climbed one game ahead of Carolina and one step closer to securing a Top 3 seed and associated first-round bye during next month’s postseason gauntlet. The Gamblers can lock up a Top 3 seed as early as Saturday night with a win against the Oklahoma Wildcatters (12-21), who beat the Texas Rattlers (16-17) in a shootout by .15 points in Friday’s second showdown to end the Rattlers’ hopes of securing a Top 3 seed. The Florida Freedom (14-19) defeated the No. 4 Nashville Stampede (18-15), while the Missouri Thunder (24-9) beat the Arizona Ridge Riders (14-19) and the New York Mavericks (14-19) advanced to No. 7 in the standings following their victory over the hometown Kansas City Outlaws (14-9).

Four teams, including the Outlaws, Mavericks, Ridge Riders and Freedom, enter Saturday with matching 14-19 records as teams attempt to avoid the Ride-In Game, which will take place between the league’s bottom 3-ranked teams.

During his historic evening, Leme teamed up with Dalton Kasel (Muleshoe, Texas) and Dener Barbosa (Paulo de Faria, Brazil) to secure Austin’s 20th win of the season. Kasel topped Lever Action for 89.35 points, while Barbosa notched 84.60 points dancing with Rank Sauce. Thiago Salgado (Naviraí, Brazil) opened Friday’s third game by besting Kangaroo Jack (67.40 points), while Clay Guiton (Cherryville, North Carolina) recorded his highest score of the season, marked an epic 90.15 points on Blackie Chan in the bottom of the third. During his PBR Teams debut, Krash Hevalow(McAlester, Oklahoma) went the distance on The HONDO for a career-best 90.25 points during a re-ride attempt, but the Cowboys dropped the 266.15-247.80 final.

The Freedom upset the Stampede during Friday’s opening game by riding two bulls. Luciano De Castro (Guzolandia, Brazil) advanced to 4-for-4 since being acquired by the Freedom earlier this month by matching Whoa step-for-step (87.90 points) in the leadoff spot to give the red, white and blue contingent an early advantage. The veteran teamed up with Yan Victor Cunha (Assis Brasil, Brazil), who bested Mr. Jimmy for 85.40 points in the bottom of the fifth, to secure the win for the Freedom. Nashville’s Riquelmi Silva (Bom Jesus do Araguaia, Brazil) went the distance aboard Sierra Storm (79.85), but the Stampede came up one score short, 173.30-79.85.

Oklahoma defeated Texas 354.15-354 during an action-packed game featuring eight qualified rides. Oklahoma’s leadoff man Eduardo Matos (Emilianópolis, Brazil) improved to 18-for-33 after topping Love County for 87.90 points to kickstart the contest for the Wildcatters before Winy dos Santos (Loanda, Brazil) went the distance atop Baylor’s Bandit(87.30) to grant Oklahoma an early two-score lead. However, Daniel Keeping (Montague, Texas) got the Rattlers on the board in the bottom of the second, scored 86.85 points on Bad Boy to move Texas within one ride, while Lucas Divino(Nova Crixas, Brazil) added 88.30 points following his successful dance with Pop A Top to bring the Rattlers .05 points behind the Wildcatters in the bottom of the third. Natanael Serra Aires (Fernandópolis, Brazil) extended Oklahoma’s advantage by 88.90 points in the top of the fourth by surviving the requisite 8 against Time Traveler. The high-scoring affair continued in the bottom of the fourth as Qynn Andersen (Koumala, Australia) bested Political Cowboy for 88.95 points to tie the game. But a career-best 90.05-point effort from 18-year-old Jack Mitchell (Weatherford, Texas), who returned to the lineup for the first time since last competing at Rattler Days, during his out aboard Enter Sandman in the top of the fifth clinched the win for Oklahoma. João Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil) nearly stole the show during the game’s final out, marked a personal season-best 89.90 points on Glitch, but the Rattlers fell .15 points short of the comeback.

The regular season Champion Missouri Thunder rode two bulls to beat the Arizona Ridge Riders by 4.8 points. Each team’s leadoff riders went the distance in Game 4, as Arizona’s Everton Natan da Silva (Viradouro, Brazil) improved to 19-for-29 this season via an 89.20-point effort atop Scruggs before Paulo Eduardo Rossetto recorded his league-best sixth 90-point ride of the season, scored 90.10 points on King Cobra, to retake the lead for Missouri. Elizmar Jeremias(Anapu, Brazil) briefly regained the lead for the Ridge Riders in the top of the fourth, scored 84.60 points on The Dark Knight, but Macaulie Leather (Calliope, Australia) answered with an 88.50-point conversion in the bottom of the fourth aboard Intoxicated to put Missouri in front once again. Following three buckoffs to conclude the game, Leather’s qualified ride represented the game-winning ride, as the Thunder logged their franchise-record 24th win of the season.

New York defeated the hometown Kansas City Outlaws during Day 1’s final game. Hudson Bolton (Milan, Tennessee) went the distance atop Kamikaze for 89.55 points to open Game 5 for the Mavericks, but a red-hot Sandro Batista(Pedra Preta, Brazil) recorded his eighth-straight conversion, marked 88.25 points on Achilles, to bring the Outlaws within 1.3 points. The game’s final eight bovines dominated their head-to-head matchups and the Mavericks beat the Outlaws by 1.3 points.

The second day of PBR Teams: Outlaw Days presented by Bad Boy Mowers and Tractors at T-Mobile Center continues Saturday, Oct. 24 at 6:45 p.m. CT. All five of Saturday’s games will air live at 7 p.m. CT on Paramount+. Tickets are available to purchase at ticketmaster.com and PBR.com.