PBR Teams: The 2026 PBR Teams season reaches its grand finale as all 10 teams head to T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada, Nov. 6-8, with the largest gold buckle in sports on the line. Action begins Friday, Nov. 6, at 7:45 p.m. PT, continues Saturday, Nov. 7, at 4:45 p.m. PT and concludes Sunday, Nov. 8, at 2:30 p.m. PT.
Friday's opening round will stream live and exclusively on Paramount+ beginning at 10:30 p.m. ET. Saturday's quarterfinal matchups will air exclusively on The CW beginning at 8 p.m. ET, while Championship Sunday will air live on The CW beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET. CBS will also feature a special presentation of "The Road to Vegas: 2026 PBR Teams Championship Countdown" on Saturday, Nov. 7, at 3 p.m. ET.
*CBS Broadcast time is subject to the NFL schedule: 3–4 p.m. or 5–6 p.m. ET. Check local listings.
FINAL PUSH FOR THE BUCKLE
The road to the 2026 PBR Teams Championship features a bracket unlike any other, complete with three-way Ride-In Games, last-chance opportunities and a championship format that puts roster depth to the ultimate test.
Friday's opening round begins with the No. 8 Arizona Ridge Riders, No. 9 Florida Freedom and No. 10 Oklahoma Wildcatters battling in a three-way Ride-In Game, with only one team advancing and the other two eliminated. The No. 4 Carolina Cowboys will then face the No. 7 New York Mavericks, while the No. 5 Texas Rattlers and No. 6 Kansas City Outlaws go head-to-head for quarterfinal spots.
The losers of those two matchups will join the Ride-In Game winner in Friday's three-way Last Chance Game, with the victorious team advancing to face top-seeded Missouri on Saturday.
The No. 3 Nashville Stampede will take on the winner of Carolina and New York, while the No. 2 Austin Gamblers will battle the winner of Texas and Kansas City. Saturday's three quarterfinal losers will have one final opportunity to stay alive in another three-way Last Chance Game, with the winner moving on to Sunday's semifinals.
And as the field narrows, the competition only gets tougher.
Friday and Saturday's games will feature traditional five-on-five matchups before expanding to six-on-six semifinals Sunday and a seven-on-seven Championship Game, testing the depth of each remaining roster.
MOMENTUM WATCH
The Missouri Thunder (24-11) arrive in Las Vegas as the No. 1 seed for the first time in franchise history after claiming their first regular-season championship. Missouri's 24 victories mark a franchise record and the second-most wins in PBR Teams history, trailing only Florida's 25-win season in 2025. Led by Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, who finished second in the MVP race with 28 qualified rides and an 80% riding percentage, the Thunder led the league in qualified rides (84) and riding percentage (48.0%). But despite their regular-season dominance, Missouri has never captured a PBR Teams Championship buckle.
The Austin Gamblers (22-13) enter as the No. 2 seed with history already on their side. Three-time PBR Teams Regular-Season MVP Jose Vitor Leme rewrote the record books in Kansas City, surpassing Chris Shivers' all-time mark with his 95th career 90-point ride while finishing the season with a PBR Teams-record 29 qualified rides and 2,570 aggregate points. The 2024 champions are looking to reclaim the buckle after falling short in 2025, and with Leme riding at an 87.88% clip, Austin has every reason to believe another championship run is within reach.
Don't count out the defending champion Carolina Cowboys (19-16), either. The No. 4 seed enters Las Vegas looking to become the first franchise in league history to win back-to-back PBR Teams Championships. Reigning Championship MVP Clay Guiton returns after scoring 433.50 points during Carolina's 2025 title run, while two-time PBR World Champion Jess Lockwood is projected to return to competition Friday against New York. The Cowboys may not have earned a first-round bye, but championship experience could prove valuable when the stakes are highest.
And then there's New York. The Mavericks (15-20) have already put together the most successful regular season in franchise history, recording a franchise-best 15 victories and securing the No. 7 seed to avoid the Ride-In Game for the first time. Now, with Hudson Bolton, Marco Rizzo and the rest of the Mavericks heading into a Friday showdown with Carolina, New York has an opportunity to turn a historic season into an even bigger postseason statement.
REMATCH RECAP
Several familiar rider-bull matchups headline Friday's opening round, with cowboys looking to settle old scores and others hoping to stay perfect against their postseason opponents.
In Game 1, Arizona's Eduardo Aparecido looks to repeat his success against Bowser after covering the bull for 88.40 points in Oklahoma City earlier this season. Teammate Cody Jesus has unfinished business with Tapatio, who bucked him off in 4.60 seconds during Rattler Days last month.
Oklahoma's Kaiden Loud enters his matchup against Dana White's Playmate with a 1-1 record, having been bucked off in 5.18 seconds in Anaheim before answering with a 90-point ride at the 2026 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast. Florida's Luciano De Castro will also look for redemption against Cherry Chew, who dispatched him in 3.43 seconds during Wildcatter Days.
In Game 2, Carolina's Jess Lockwood returns to competition with a rematch against Holy Shift, who bucked him off in a close 7.66 seconds earlier this season at Stampede Days. Teammate Thiago Salgado will look to stay perfect against Humdinger after covering the bull for 89 points in Oklahoma City.
New York's Bob Mitchell also enters with the upper hand against Rhino USA Mouse Trap, having ridden the bull for 87.50 points last January, while Leonardo Castro seeks his first qualified ride against Slick Rick, who sent him to the dirt in 4.14 seconds during the regular-season finale.
Game 3 features Texas' Daniel Keeping looking to repeat his 87.40-point performance aboard Money Hustler in Ridgedale, Missouri, while Kansas City's Hayden Welsh hopes to stay perfect against Ghost Face after an 89.30-point ride during Ridge Rider Days.
Texas' Jean Carlos Teodoro and Corriente also have a score to settle. The two enter Las Vegas tied 1-1 after Corriente bucked Teodoro off in 7.27 seconds in Anaheim before the Brazilian answered with an 88.10-point ride in their second meeting.
THE FINAL DIRT
Ten teams. Three days. One gold buckle. From Missouri's pursuit of its first title to Carolina's bid for back-to-back championships, the 2026 PBR Teams Championship will determine who rides out of Las Vegas as the fifth-ever champion of the league.
Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media