Playoff Matchups if the PBR Team Series Championship Started Today
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – There is still much to be decided regarding who will be playing against whom during the PBR Team Series Championship on Nov. 4-6 in Las Vegas. But with only two events left (six games per team), it is that fun time of the season where we can look at potential playoff matchups.
First, here is a refresher on the postseason format for the PBR Team Series Championship.
All eight teams qualify for the PBR Team Series Championship in Las Vegas. The top two teams in the regular-season standings earn first-round byes.
The playoffs are the same five-on-five, head-to-head format fans see during the regular season. Two teams will be eliminated from the playoffs each day. The first two rounds of competition will feature a “Last Chance” playoff game for teams who lost their first game earlier in the night.
First Round (Nov. 4)
Regular-Season No. 3 seed vs. Regular-Season No. 8 seed
Regular-Season No. 4 seed vs. Regular-Season No. 7 seed
Regular-Season No. 5 seed vs. Regular-Season No. 6 seed
Last Chance: 3-way last chance game (Three teams who lost in the above games compete; best team score on five rides advances to second round)
Second Round (Nov. 5)
Regular-Season No. 1 seed vs. lowest remaining seed
Regular-Season No. 2 seed vs. second-lowest remaining seed
No. 3 highest remaining seed vs. No. 4 highest remaining seed
Last Chance: 3-way last chance game (Three teams who lost in the above games compete; best team score on five rides advances to semifinals)
Semifinals / Championship Game (Nov. 6)
Top remaining seed vs. lowest remaining seed (Winner advances to championship game)
Second top remaining seed vs. third top remaining seed (Winner advances to championship game)
3rd Place Game: Loser of Game 1 above vs. Loser of Game 2 above
Championship Game: Winner of Game 1 vs. Winner of Game 2
Here is how the first round of the PBR Team Series Championship would look if the regular season were over today.
No. 1 Carolina and No. 2 Oklahoma would have first-round byes and not have to play on Friday night (Nov. 4) in Las Vegas.
No. 1 Carolina (14-8)
Carolina could very well be on its way to the No. 1 seed in a few weeks. The Cowboys have been stout all season long, leading the league in wins (14), Bonus Round points (59) and qualified rides (47 in games + Bonus Rounds).
The team also has two of the Top 4 riders in the MVP race, with 2022 reigning World Champion Daylon Swearingen (14-for-23) and Mason Taylor (12-for-25). Oh, they also have 2016 World Champion Cooper Davis, who is riding at a blistering 75% rate (6-for-8) since making his season debut at Cowboy Days.
No. 2 Oklahoma (13-8)
The Oklahoma Freedom have won nine of their last 10 games to rocket up the standings and are led by a trio of veterans in Eli Vastbinder, Derek Kolbaba and Chase Outlaw. A first-round bye could go a long way for the Freedom, who certainly have some wear and tear on their tires. Vastbinder has been banged up throughout the season with a series of bumps and bruises, and Outlaw has attempted 29 bulls this year, which is his most in three years. Meanwhile, rising star Briggs Madsen got roughed up at Thunder Days this past weekend.
The first-round bye is crucial for teams trying to stay healthy in the postseason, as a loss on Friday night could lead to a team having to play two games in the first round.
No. 3 Arizona (12-9-1) vs. No. 8 Nashville (5-16-1)
The No. 3 seed may be the most dangerous position to be in for the first round of the postseason if Nashville remains in the basement of the PBR Team Series.
Why do you say that?
Well, the Stampede have only won five games this year, but the team has been severely snake-bitten.
Nashville is the worst team via record in the league, but the Stampede have the fourth-best aggregate score in game competition (not including Bonus Round performance) and have a 31.8% team riding percentage in game competition, which is actually better than that of the Oklahoma Freedom (30.9%).
However, a matchup against Arizona still will be a tough one.
Arizona is riding 40.9% of its bulls in 22 games and leads the league with 45 qualified rides in game competition.
If Arizona and Nashville square off in the first round, it will likely take three or four rides for either team to be victorious. The game could easily end up being the most competitive game on the first night in Vegas.
Nashville may end up as the No. 8 seed regardless of their recent strong play. They are four games behind No. 7 Kansas City with six games to play. Regardless of who they play, Nashville will be a team not to underestimate inside T-Mobile Arena.
SEASON SERIES: Arizona is 2-0-1 against Nashville.
No. 4 Austin (11-11) vs. No. 7 Kansas City (9-13)
The Gamblers will be an interesting team in the postseason. Two-time World Champion Jose Vitor Leme is a threat to propel his team to victory regardless of the situation. However, Thunder Days is a reminder that it could be hard for a team to rely on one rider to carry a team. Leme went 2-for-2 for the Gamblers at Thunder Days, but the rest of the team went a combined 2-for-16.
Even more concerning is that Leme may have made his broken ribs worse during his game-winning ride on Patches (90.25) against Oklahoma on Saturday night. He landed hard on the ground at Thunder Ridge Nature Arena and had to be helped by the PBR Sports Medicine Team.
Leme’s health will be the biggest question going forward, as Austin will have zero chance of winning the championship without its captain. His health may have to take precedence over gaining a first-round bye.
Meanwhile, Kansas City has the lowest aggregate team score in the league. The light at the end of the tunnel could be that the Outlaws are still waiting for second-round draft pick Kyler Oliver to round back into form. Oliver is 2-for-11 in PBR Teams and went 0-for-2 at Thunder Days. To be fair, Oliver was competing 24 hours after getting food poisoning this weekend in Ridgedale and was by no means at full strength.
If the Outlaws can get Oliver back to his previous World Champion contender form from before he broke his neck in April and get 2019 Rookie of the Year Dalton Kasel red hot heading into Vegas, then the Outlaws could threaten Austin in the first round seeing as depth riders Marcus Mast (11-for-24) and Bob Mitchell continue to improve.
SEASON SERIES: Kansas City is 2-1 against Austin.
No. 5 Missouri (11-11) vs. No. 6 Texas (10-12)
Missouri and Texas are two pretty even teams, with one team on the rise and the other stumbling in neutral.
The Rattlers have won six of their past seven games and are coming off an event win at Thunder Days. Meanwhile, the Thunder have been middling around .500 for the last month and have not won back-to-back games since Anaheim (Aug. 12-13).
The way these two teams are riding, it is likely this could be a game decided by a walk-off or even one score. Both will hope their top riders can be healthy and ready for Las Vegas. The Thunder were without first-round pick Colten Fritzlan this past weekend because of a concussion, and Cody Jesus skipped Missouri because of sore groins.
Either one of those two riders could be the difference-maker in this potential matchup.
Missouri vs. Texas could be the most even matchup in the first round. The Thunder are 35-for-118 (29.66%), and the Rattlers are 34-for-118 (28.81%) in game competition and the Bonus Round.
SEASON SERIES: Texas is 2-1 against Missouri.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Todd Brewer/Bull Stock Media
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