Has Cinderella Thundered Back into Las Vegas?
On a night that began with two dramatic bottom-of-the-fifth walk-off wins, it was the last-place Missouri Thunder who truly stunned fans inside T-Mobile Arena, sending home the Carolina Cowboys and Nashville Stampede by winning the Last Chance Game at the opening night of the PBR Camping World Team Series Championship.
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The Stampede, reigning league Champions following their shocking run through the three top-seeded teams last year after entering the playoffs last place, may well be stepping aside for a new Cinderella in the infant league’s second championship.
While the Thunder fell in Round 1 match play to the Texas Rattlers, Co-Head Coaches Luke Snyder and Ross Coleman rallied their troops for the Last Chance Game.
Rookies Felipe Furlan and Kade Madsen converted for the young squad, keeping their championship hopes alive and advancing Missouri to Round 2 for the first time in franchise history. Tonight in Round 2, they face a tall task against the regular-season champion Austin Gambers, who beat them in all four contests this season.
Earlier in the night, the Arizona Ridge Riders and Oklahoma Freedom each won in dramatic fashion to advance.
Arizona’s Keyshawn Whitehorse ended a shootout in the first game of the postseason with a bang, walking off the Carolina Cowboys, 344 – 265.5, courtesy of an 88.5-point dance with Twisted Feather.
“This team put all of us in a position to win. My job was to finish it out,” Whitehorse said with usual humility.
Not to be outdone, the Freedom’s Caden Bunch converted in his team’s final out for 86.25 points to edge out the 2022 PBR Teams Champion Nashville Stampede, 262 – 261.5, sending them to the Last Chance Game – a unique twist to these bull-riding playoffs, in which three teams compete in a 15-out contest for redemption.
In Saturday night’s first game, Oklahoma faces off against the Texas Rattlers, who bested them in the Third Place Game last year, while the Arizona Ridge Riders battle a highly confident Texas Rattlers squad.
While the Stampede finished the regular season 11-17, the stacked Carolina Cowboys were bitterly disappointed in their opening game after going 3-for-5 with rides from Daylon Swearingen, Cooper Davis and Sage Kimzey. They still fell to the Arizona Ridge Riders who finished a bull up from qualified rides from Chase Dougherty, Eduardo Aparecido, Luciano De Castro, and Keyshawn Whitehorse.
Meantime, the Stampede fell to the Oklahoma Freedom in the second game of the evening, spoiling conversions from Silvano Alves, Ednelio Almeida, and Alan de Souza.
Those losses sent both teams to the first Last Chance Game of the playoffs, with another set for tonight. Carolina’s Josh Frost and Nashville’s Kaiden Loud made the horn, but it wasn’t enough as the Missouri Thunder upset both the Cowboys and Stampede, sending them home.
The night began with the world’s best bull riders going a torrid 16-for-30 in front of a roaring T-Mobile Arena crowd, finishing the night 20-for-45 (44.44%).
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The only rider to go a perfect 2-for-2 on the evening was Furlan, a rookie for the Thunder, who held on for 8 for two 84.5-point scores in his team’s matchup against the Texas Rattlers and in the first Last Chance Game.
One pairing of particular note tonight involves an athelte who can be called UFC’s biggest heavyweight.
While it may not be in an octagon, Dana White’s Twisted Steel enters the chutes slated to face Missouri’s Andrew Alvidrez. Twisted Steel may be the most famous of all the bulls in the Championship, starring in a 24/7 bull cam set up in bull housing outside South Point Arena.
He’s only been covered twice in his 24 premier series outs (91.67 buckoff percentage), first by Ednei Caminhas for 82.75 points against the Oklahoma Freedom in August of 2022 and then by Braidy Randolph for 85.75 points at the PBR World Finals in May.
With the walk-off wins and the Thunder’s stunning upset, the 3-day Teams Championship truly began with a bang.
“If the drama and intensity we saw last night didn’t get you excited, check your pulse,” said PBR Commissioner and CEO Sean Gleason, looking ahead to tonight’s six-team shootout, which will be televised on CBS Sports Network at 10 p.m. ET.
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ON TAP TONIGHT:
The 2022 PBR Team Series Championship continues Saturday, October 21
No. 1 Austin Gamblers vs. No. 8 Missouri Thunder No. 2 Kansas City Outlaws vs. No. 5 Arizona Ridge Riders No. 3 Texas Rattlers vs. No. 4 Oklahoma Freedom
Second Last Chance Game (Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser vs. Game 3 Loser)
