PUEBLO, Colo. – The PBR announced in November a new points system for the 2015 season that changed how points are accrued throughout the regular season towards the PBR World Championship and how event winners on the Built Ford Tough Series are determined.
With one event officially in the books, here are how things shaped up for those still looking to learn more about how the points system played out during the Baltimore Invitational.
Before taking a round-by-round look at the Baltimore Invitational, here is a refresher on the changes made for 2015.
Built Ford Tough Series Event Scoring
The 2015 PBR Built Ford Tough World Champion will be the rider who has accumulated the most points during the regular season and the Built Ford Tough World Finals. The PBR’s new system puts an emphasis on winning and rewards bull riders who perform at the highest level both within individual events (i.e. round placement) and throughout the season.
Riders earn points at BFTS events based on where they place in a round and the event average.
The first-place finisher at a BFTS round receives 100 event points. Riders placing second through fifth receive event points on a graduated scale (60, 50, 40, 30).
The first-place finisher in the event average, which is based on a rider’s total combined ride score, will receive 400 points. Riders placing second through 10th receive points on a graduated scale (240, 180, 105, 65, 45, 20, 15, 10, 5).
The Top 15 riders with the highest-combined ride scores following Rounds 1 & 2 (or three during a three-day event) will advance to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round.
How did the new points system work in Baltimore?
Starting with Round 1, Mike Lee rode Pecos Bill for a Round 1-high of 87.75 points. Therefore, Lee was awarded 100 event points.
Kasey Hayes finished second in the round by riding Loco Lizard for 87.25 points, earning him 65 event points.
J.W. Harris earned 50 event points with the third-highest scored ride of Round 1 when he covered Alternator for 86.75 points, and Nathan Schaper was awarded 40 event points for placing fourth in Round 1 with 86.25 points on Nefarious.
Guilherme Marchi placed fifth in Round 1 with 85.75 points on RMEF Big Bull for 30 event points.
Therefore, the event leaderboard following Round 1 appeared as follows:
1. Mike Lee (100 event points)
2. Kasey Hayes (60 event points)
3. J.W. Harris (50 event points)
4. Nathan Schaper (40 event points)
5. Guilherme Marchi (30 event points)
The remaining 15 riders that posted qualified rides earned no points toward the world standings or the event standings. However, they remained in the hunt for the event average title, which awards 400 points to the bull rider who accumulates the highest-combined ride score. Those 400 points are crucial when it comes to potentially winning a BFTS event.
Baltimore Round 2
In Round 2, there were a total of 18 qualified rides. Using the same approach as Round 1, here is how event points were awarded:
Reese Cates earned the Round 2 victory and 100 event points with an 88.5-point ride on KISS Animalize.
Cody Nance earned 60 event points courtesy of his 87.5 point-ride on Modified Clyde – the second highest-scored ride of Round 2.
Third in the round was Matt Triplett with 87 points on Shoot Out The Lights, providing him with 50 event points, while Renato Nunes was credited with 40 event points for a fourth-place finish on Slappy.
Rounding out the Top-5 of Round 2 was Silvano Alves with his 86.25-point performance on Rough ‘em Up Tuck.
Once again, the other 13 riders that posted qualified rides in Round 2 did not earn any event points or points toward the world standings. However, some of these riders were a perfect 2-for-2 on the weekend and in prime position for making a run at the 400 event points that come with winning the event average.
Therefore, here are the event standings (based upon event points earned) following Round 2.
1/2. Mike Lee (100 event points)
1/2. Reese Cates (100 event points)
3/4. Kasey Hayes (60 event points)
3/4. Cody Nance(60 event points)
5/6. J.W. Harris (50 event points)
5/6. Matt Triplett (50 event points)
7/8. Nathan Schaper (40 event points)
7/8. Renato Nunes (40 event points)
9/10. Guilherme Marchi (30 event points)
9/10. Silvano Alves (30 event points)
Who qualified for the Built Ford Tough Championship Round?
Here are which riders qualified for the Built Ford Tough Championship Round based on the event average (total combined ride scores).
Below in parentheses are the number of event points that each rider earned towards winning the Baltimore event following Round 1 and Round 2. Remember, these 15 riders were jockeying to earn the important 400 event points for placing first in the event average, as well as the additional points awarded to the remaining nine riders that round out the Top 10 in the event average.
1. Reese Cates 2-for-2 for 174 ride points (100 event points)
2. Matt Triplett 2-for-2 for 172 ride points (50 event points)
3. Renato Nunes 2-for-2 for 170.5 ride points (40 event points)
4. Sean Willingham 2-for-2 for 169.75 ride points (0 event points)
5. Kasey Hayes 2-for-2 for 169.25 ride points (60 event points)
6. Brady Sims 2-for-2 for 169 ride points (0 event points)
7. Ryan Dirteater 2-for-2 for 168 ride points (0 event points)
8. Silvano Alves 2-for-2 for 167.25 ride points (30 event points)
9. Shane Proctor 2-for-2 for 166.5 ride points (0 event points)
10. L.J. Jenkins 2-for-2 for 159.5 ride points (0 event points)
11. Eduardo Aparecido 2-for-2 for 151 ride points (0 event points)
12. Mike Lee 1-for-2 for 87.75 ride points (100 event points)
13. Cody Nance 1-for-2 for 87.5 ride points (60 event points)
14. J.W. Harris 1-for-2 for 86.75 ride points (50 event points)
15. Nathan Schaper 1-for-2 for 86.25 ride points (40 event points)
Championship Round Results
Kasey Hayes rode Fire & Smoke for 89.25 points to win the round and earn 100 event points.
Silvano Alves placed second in the round with 88 points on Yo Yo and earned 60 event points, Cody Nance finished third with 87.5 points aboard I’m a Gangster Too for 50 event points, Reese Cates rode Percolator for 86.5 points and 40 event points and Ryan Dirteater finished fifth in the round with 84.5 points on Cooper Tires Semper Fi and was awarded 30 event points.
Shane Proctor earned no event points in the championship round, seeing as he finished outside of the Top 5 with 83.75 points on Freakster.
However, once again the majority of points available at a BFTS event still remain within the event average and Proctor finished 3-for-3 with a combined ride score of 250.25 points. Therefore, he finished fifth in the event average and earned 65 event points, which also carryover to the world standings.
Here is how the top event average finishers were awarded event points in Baltimore:
The riders that are in the Top 10 of the event average are awarded significant event points at a BFTS event. These are the Top 10 riders in the event average from Baltimore:
1. Reese Cates, 260.5 ride points on three bulls (400 event points)
2. Kasey Hayes, 258.5 ride points on three bulls (240 event points)
3. Silvano Alves, 255.25 ride points on three bulls (180 event points)
4. Ryan Dirteater, 252.50 ride points on three bulls (105 event points)
5. Shane Proctor, 250.25 ride points on three bulls (65 event points)
6. Cody Nance, 165 ride points on two bulls (45 event points)
7. Matt Triplett, 172 event points on two bulls (20 event points)
8. Renato Nunes, 170.5 ride points on two bulls (15 event points)
9. Sean Willingham, 169.75 ride points on two bulls (10 event points)
10. Brady Sims, 169 ride points on two bulls (5 event points)
How were the final event results decided in Baltimore?
Based on the new scoring system, event finish at a BFTS event is determined based upon total event points earned and not total ride score. Consequently, here is how things finished in Baltimore.
1. Reese Cates (500 event points)
2. Kasey Hayes (400 event points)
3. Silvano Alves (270 event points)
4. Cody Nance (155 event points)
5. Ryan Dirteater (135 event points)
6. Mike Lee (100 event points)
7. Matt Triplett (70 event points)
8. Shane Proctor (65 event points)
9. Renato Nunes (55 event points)
10. J.W. Harris (50 event points)
11. Nathan Schaper (40 event points)
12. Guilherme Marchi (30 event points)
13. Sean Willingham (10 event points)
14. Brady Sims (5 event points)
These are the only points that carry over into the world standings from a BFTS event. Ride scores from an event do not count toward the world standings.
Riders may also earn points toward the world standings based upon how they finish in the event average at BlueDEF Velocity Tour, Touring Pro Division and international PBR events. However, riders at those events do not earn any points for where they finish in a round.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko.
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