Arizona Ridge Riders Survive PBR Championship Elimination by Less Than 1 Point

The Arizona Ridge Riders were not the favorites coming into the 2026 PBR Teams Championship. Yet, they battled their way through and by less than a point, the team kept their championship hopes alive.

The PBR Teams Championship is in full force in Las Vegas right now, with the best of the best sitting down on the fiercest bulls in the industry.

Veteran bull rider Eduardo Aparecido came through for his team when he finished his eight seconds of glory and scored 91.45 points inside T-Mobile Arena. That was just enough to pull the No. 8-seeded Ridge Riders to the victory in the three-team Last Chance Game.

That 91.45-point ride defeated the Kansas City Outlaws, who scored 90.6, and the New York Mavericks, who had recorded 89.75.

The victory sent Arizona to the quarterfinals, which will start at 7:45 p.m. ET on Saturday. They will be facing the top-seeded Missouri Thunder.

Eduardo Aparecido Saved Arizona

Aparecido didn’t just take the victory for the team, he also scored the highest-marked ride of the evening. It came with the help of the bull he drew, Freedom Fighter.

Aparecido was the only rider from the Arizona-based team to record a score in the Last Chance Game, but it was enough to keep their hopes and dreams alive.

For Kansas City it was Maikon Calixton Rocha who posted the 90.6-point ride which was almost enough. New York’s Marco Rizzo put up the 89.75.

Arizona head coach Colby Yates credited Aparecido for his performance under pressure.

“He’s always cool, calm and poised,” Yates said on the Paramount+ broadcast. “That’s why he is the leader of our team and the captain.”

Ridge Riders Survive Two Eliminations

PBR Team Championship buckle Photo by: Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media — PBR Team Championship buckle Photo by: Andy Watson | Bull Stock Media

The Championships started for Arizona with a three-team Ride-In Game against the Florida Freedom and Oklahoma Wildcatters.

The Ridge Riders advanced with 257.55 points easily defeating Florida and Oklahoma who scored 181.00 and 174.15 respectively.

Aparecido contributed an 88.75 ride in those efforts.

That victory moved Arizona on to the Last Chance Game, and it looked like Arizona had met its match. They were struggling to get a qualified ride.

In fact, four of their five riders bucked off. That left the captain to do his work and he pulled through for the team.

Talking about the win, head coach Yates had this to say on the television broadcast, “This was a very bad win. We have to get better here if we’re going to beat a team like Missouri. We know we have to ride three or four bulls, so we have some work to do, but we’re super excited to move on. That’s exactly what we came here to do.”

Sometimes it’s not how you get there it’s how you finish, and Arizona is going to have that opportunity.

No. 1 Missouri Thunder Await

Saturday’s matchup will be tougher. The Missouri Thunder finished the regular season as the number-one team with a 24-11 record. Arizona was just 15-20 on the year.

The quarterfinals will take place on Saturday evening, with the PBR Team Championship concluding on Sunday in Las Vegas.

Arizona might have arrived as an underdog, but apparently no one told Aparecido.

Information for this article provided in part by PBR press release.

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