Cinderella Gets to the Ball
A thundering fairy tale continues.
The Missouri Thunder, who struggled mightily to an 8-20 last-place regular season finish in the 2023 season, once again won the Last Chance Game to survive and advance in the highly entertaining 2023 version of the PBR Teams Championship.
In the unique three-team game in Saturday’s playoffs, the Thunder parlayed two 90-point rides from star rookies to eliminate the Kansas City Outlaws and Oklahoma Freedom, surviving to compete in Championship Sunday.
Like any good fairy tale, heartbreak preceded Saturday night’s eventual joy.
The Thunder’s story, which began Friday night with a loss followed by their first redeeming last-chance win, started Saturday with a crushing defeat to the Austin Gamblers.
In the top of the fifth, with the Thunder up one bull, including Andrew Alvidrez solving Dana White’s Twisted Steel in a globally promoted matchup, Briggs Madsen had a chance to put the game away. One 8-second ride separated the last seed from storming into Championship Sunday. Madsen was doing a great job hanging onto frenetically bucking Time Bomb, but time wasn’t on his side, and he was flung off at the 7.5 second mark.
Down a bull in the bottom of the fifth, the Gamblers’ Jose Vitor Leme did what’s expected from all-time greats. He knocked down an 89-point walk-off ride to down the Thunder 177.75 to 174.75.
On the brink of elimination for the second straight night, Missouri once shocked the bull riding world. This time, gigantic 90-point rides from rookies Kade Madsen and Felipe Furlan eliminated the regular season No. 2 Kansas City Outlaws and the Oklahoma Freedom, spoiling the Outlaws’ Wingson Henrique da Silva’s event-high 92.5-point masterpiece.
The Thunder became the only team in league history to win both Last Chance Games. They now lead the tournament in 90-point rides as they get their second chance to defeat the Austin Gamblers in Game 1 on Sunday.
It will be giant final mountain to climb. The Gamblers have beaten the Thunder five times this year.
Madsen, a polite, articulate, soft spoken cowboy from Utah who resembles a teenager dads would be fine with taking their daughter to the prom, had an 86.75-point ride in the loss to the Gamblers prior to his big 90 in the Last Chance Game. The kid is having an MVP-worthy weekend in Vegas.
Madsen and Furlan are now the only two riders with three rides at the Championship, topping the Team Event MVP standings with 263.5 and 259 points, respectively. Furlan is also the only rider who is a perfect 3-for-3 heading into Championship Sunday.
“All season was pretty rough on us,” said 20-year-old Madsen. “Those two (coaches Luke Snyder and Ross Coleman) kept us so positive. It’s really hard to lose that much consistently throughout the season and then get to Vegas and still have a good attitude. The first bull I got on (Friday), I was pretty nervous and didn’t ride worth a dang. After that one, I had to dig down deep and remember why I ride bulls. My goal was to win the (regular season) MVP. I didn’t get that done. I want to win one of those before I head out.”
Kade Madsen
Courtesy Bull Stock Media
In addition to the No. 1 Gamblers, this year’s Cinderella squad faces formidable Final Four competition with the Texas Rattlers and Arizona Ridge Riders fielding very strong lineups.
The Rattlers have steadily gained momentum throughout the season, coming into Vegas at 16-12. They look to be peaking in Vegas.
After defeating the Thunder in Round 1, the Rattlers stormed into Round 2 and beat the Oklahoma Freedom 170.75 – 87 behind rides from veterans Eli Vastbinder and Joao Ricardo Vieira.
Since the Freedom traded Vastbinder to the Rattlers on September 17, the 32-year-old veteran is 2-for-4 with his new club coached by PBR legend Cody Lambert. He’s helped the team go 6-3 to close the regular season, including a perfect 3-0 to win their Rattlers Days homestand.
Vastbinder, who is a main character in the PBR docuseries “The Ride” on Prime Video, is thriving under Lambert, who once again betrayed his gruff reputation by inviting Eli and his pregnant wife and two daughters to live on his ranch when Vastbinder joined the team.
“I enjoy the teams concept, the camaraderie; it kind of takes me back to rodeoing all those years, having your van full of guys,” Vastbinder said. “It didn’t really matter as long as someone in the van is winning.”
Eli Vastbinder
Courtesy Bull Stock Media
Lambert, whose approach is less about teaching how to ride and more teaching guys to be cowboys, has said he wants the Rattlers to be “boring” – meaning five guys just doing their jobs, under the radar.
“With Lambert’s team, there’s not one guy getting on that eliminator every week,” Vastbinder said. “There’s not a star…or some kid getting slammed every week. That bucker gets passed around. It’s a nice change for me.”
Texas now faces off against the Arizona Ridge Riders, who defeated them in Round 2 last year.
In Vegas, the Ridge Riders once again look like the team that steamrolled seven consecutive wins. They owned the Gamblers by beating the No. 1 team three times this year.
After disposing of the always-dangerous Carolina Cowboys in a Round 1 shootout, the Ridge Riders defeated the No. 2 Kanas City Outlaws 160.25 – 86.75 to advance to their second Semifinal game in franchise history.
After finishing runner-up to the Nashville Stampede in 2022, Arizona is primed to once again return to the Championship Game this year, leading the tournament with an impressive 60% team riding percentage.
Both Chase Dougherty and Eduardo Aparecido are a perfect 2-for-2 so far this weekend entering the team’s matchup with the Texas Rattlers. Dougherty’s qualified ride on Bison wasn’t the prettiest. The last three seconds of quintessential grit and try were like holding onto a wrecking train. The score was a very low 76.5, but in five-on-five bull riding, just registering a score counts most.
The ride on Bison did not come without physical punishment after Dougherty was hung up and rag dolled. It was surprising to see the lanky cowboy walk into the T-Mobile media center for the post-event press conference with a sly smile on his face.
“I didn’t think I was hung up until the buzzer went,” he said. “I tried to let go and he wasn’t letting go of me. My wife wants me to stop slitting my finger, but I’ve got two more (games) to go.”
Chase Dougherty
Courtesy Bull Stock Media
Dougherty is completely invested in the Teams competition. On Friday night before the Ridge Riders game was complete, with Keyshawn Whitehorse getting ready to try to pull off a walk-off win in the bottom of the fifth, Daugherty had to leave the chutes.
The harsh reality of ride for the 8, or lose a playoff game was all too much.
“I was freaking out and sweating bullets,” he said. “Felt like I was having a little bit of a heart attack. I couldn’t watch.”
Four teams remain. Cinderella is putting on the gown. Fans can see how this thoroughly intriguing and entertaining Championship will play out today at 12:45 p.m. PDT on CBS Sports Network.
SUNDAY’S PROJECTED STARTING LINEUPS
Arizona Ridge Riders: Chase Dougherty, Eduardo Aparecido, Vitor Losnake, Hayden Harris and Luciano de Castro.
Austin Gamblers: Dalton Kasel, Rafael dos Santos, Ramon de Lima, Lucas Divino and Jose Vitor Leme.
Missouri Thunder: Kade Madsen, Felipe Furlan, Joao Lucas Campos, Andrew Alvidrez and Briggs Madsen.
Texas Rattlers: Joao Ricardo Vieira, Brady Fielder, Eli Vastbinder, Trace Redd and Daniel Keeping.
televised on CBS Sports Network at 10 p.m. ET.
TEAMS CHAMPIONSHIP GAME SCHEDULE
PBR Team Schedule - October 22, 2023
PBR
