Game Notes: New York City

THE EVENT: 

BIG CITY BUCKOFF – The first of four PBR Majors will take place this weekend in New York City. PBR’s elite Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) continues its season with one of the biggest events of the year – the Monster Energy Buck Off at The Garden. This will be the 10th year Madison Square Garden has hosted the PBR.

NEXT UP – The Express Employment Professionals Invitational is the next stop on the BFTS, as the PBR heads to Chesapeake Energy Arena in Oklahoma City on Jan. 22-24. The event will take place at 8 p.m. on Friday, Jan. 22; 7 p.m. on Saturday, Jan. 23; and 2 p.m. on Sunday, Jan. 24.

PAST NEW YORK CITY EVENT WINNERS – Last year, 2008 PBR World Champion Guilherme Marchi went 4-for-4 in New York City event to nail down his first win of the 2015 season, and first victory at Madison Square Garden.

2015 Guilherme Marchi

2014 J.B. Mauney & Fabiano Vieira

2013 Robson Palermo

2012 Cody Nance

2011 Valdiron de Oliveira

2010 Shane Proctor

2009 J.B. Mauney

2008 Valdiron de Oliveira

2007 J.B. Mauney

FORMAT – This weekend, the Top 35 bull riders on the BFTS will compete in Round 1 on Friday night, Round 2 on Saturday night and Round 3 on Sunday afternoon, facing one bull in each round. The riders with the Top 15 scores after three rounds will advance to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round on Sunday for an additional ride and a chance at the $30,000 event title.

PBR MAJORS – The PBR Built Ford Tough Series will have four events designated as “Majors” this year. These events carry higher payouts and points than other regular-season PBR events, and take place in New York City, Arlington, Texas, Las Vegas and Nashville.

POSSIBLE POINTS – In New York City, there will be three long rounds and a championship round, not including Friday night’s 15/15 Bucking Battle, which offers 455 points to the riders competing. All New York City rounds, excluding the 15/15 Bucking Battle, will award round winners 125 points – 25 points more than a standard BFTS round. Last year, riders only earned points for finishing in the Top-5. In addition, the event average winner in New York will be awarded 625 points – a 125-point increase from a standard three-day BFTS event.

TELEVISION BROADCAST – CBS Sports will air the 15/15 Bucking Battle on Saturday at noon ET. CBS Sports Network will air Round 2 on Jan. 16 at 8 p.m. ET as well as Round 3 and the Built Ford Tough Championship Round on Jan. 17 at 8:30 p.m. ET.

PBR LIVE will stream the entire event in real time with Round 1 on Friday, Jan. 16, at 8 p.m. ET; Round 2 on Saturday, Jan. 17 at 6:50 p.m. ET; and Round 3 and the championship round on Sunday, Jan. 18, at 1:50 p.m. ET. PBR LIVE is now available at no charge to all fans and media. Visit www.PBR.com/live to view.

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