PUEBLO, Colo. – Can PBR fans be in for another electric and captivating PBR Major this coming weekend at Iron Cowboy?
We can only hope so.
It was less than five weeks ago when world No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme and 2020 World Finals event winner Boudreaux Campbell led a spirited effort from the top riders in the world during Last Cowboy Standing at Cheyenne Frontier Days. The final night of competition, which is the most grueling format on the PBR schedule, produced eight 90-point rides combined.
Now, the progressive elimination format is back again with this coming weekend’s PBR Tractor Supply Co. Iron Cowboy, presented by Ariat, at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
Iron Cowboy will be the same format as Last Cowboy Standing and is the final PBR Major of the 2021 season. This weekend is also the first Iron Cowboy to be held in Fort Worth and the first in Texas since the 2018 Iron Cowboy at AT&T Stadium.
Round 1 airs exclusively on CBS Sports Network live at 8 p.m. ET on Saturday.
One rider can earn a maximum of 345 points (300 event world points + 45 ride score bonus) toward the world standings in Fort Worth and a payday of at least $75,000.
RELATED: Last Cowboy Standing daysheet
Forty riders will begin in Round 1, with the Top 25 scores advancing to Round 2. In the event fewer riders have recorded a score than required to advance, the remaining positions will be filled based on the world standings as of Aug. 23
The Top 8 riders via aggregate score following the second round will then advance to Round 3. Next, Round 4 will consist of the Top 4 riders in the aggregate based on the previous three rounds.
Essentially, the first four rounds will be cut down from 40 riders to 25 to 8 to 4.
Round 5 will feature every rider that posted a qualified ride in Round 4. A minimum of two riders will compete in Round 5. If only one rider covers in Round 4, then the PBR will bring back one rider (based on aggregate scores following the completion of Round 4).
The rider with the highest score in Round 5 will win the title of Iron Cowboy. If all riders buck off in Round 5, the Iron Cowboy crown will go to the rider with the highest aggregate score among those who attempted a bull in Round 5.
The Iron Cowboy winner receives 150 world points, and the runner-up takes home 94 points.
If the event ends with more than one qualified ride in Round 5, then each rider with a qualified ride in Round 5 will be awarded the world points determined by their final ride scores in Round 5. (The runner-up only receives 94 world points if he rides his bull in Round 5 or if the event winner had also bucked off in Round 5).
If the event ends with no qualified rides in the fifth round, each rider who attempted a bull in the fifth round will be awarded world points (the 150 and 94) based on their aggregate score earned throughout the event.
Fans can watch the Iron Cowboy finale live on CBS national television Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.
RIDERS OUT OF COMPETITION BECAUSE OF INJURY
No. 7 Chase Dougherty (sprained left elbow)
No. 8 Keyshawn Whitehorse (back/knee/foot)
No. 11 Marco Eguchi (broken right foot)
No. 15 Colten Fritzlan (left shoulder)
No. 29 Cody Nance (dislocated hip)
RIDERS COMPETING VIA EXEMPTION
Leonardo Lima is this week’s Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour invite after he won the Grand Rapids Classic last Saturday. Lima went 1-for-2 with his 88-point ride on White Dust holding up as the event winner.
Lima earned 37 points toward the world standings to add his name to the World Finals qualification race. The No. 47-ranked bull rider in the world is 51.92 points behind No. 35 Andrew Alvidrez.
Lima has drawn Jailhouse Cat (1-0, UTB) for Round 1, while Alvidrez takes on Ground Assault (7-3, UTB/METC). Ground Assault bucked Alvidrez off in 4.98 seconds last year at the Monster Energy Team Challenge.
Lucas Divino and Koal Livingston are down to their final guaranteed injury exemptions, with Livingston facing a much larger climb in the world rankings than Divino.
Divino is ranked No. 34 in the world standings and should remain in contention for an alternate spot in the final events leading up to the World Finals. Divino, who separated some ribs last weekend in Nashville, takes on Gold Finger (0-0, UTB) in Round 1.
Livingston has zero world points and is 187 points outside of the Top 30. He will take on Heart Throb in his first premier series event since last year’s season-opener in New York. Livingston is 0-for-5 at three Touring Pro Division events this year.
Livingston would have to win Iron Cowboy to potentially move into the Top 30.
Daylon Swearingen also is in the draw via injury exemption this weekend. Swearingen has struggled mightily in 2021 and is 1-for-10 on the UTB. He will look to end a streak of seven consecutive buckoffs when he faces Charlie Brown (0-0, UTB).
LEME CONTINUES WORLD TITLE DEFENSE
World No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme takes a season-best 519.5-point lead atop the world standings into Iron Cowboy following his league-leading fifth event win of 2021 last weekend in Nashville.
Leme won the last PBR Major a few weeks ago in Cheyenne with a sensational performance at Last Cowboy Standing. The 25-year-old went a flawless 5-for-5, including three 90-point rides on the final night of competition.
A second consecutive PBR Major title this coming weekend would push Leme that much further ahead in his pursuit of becoming the second rider in PBR history to win back-to-back world titles.
RELATED: Iron Cowboy presents Major opportunity for Leme’s challengers
Leme has drawn @PBR on Tik Tok (15-12, UTB/METC) for Round 1 on Saturday night at Dickies Arena.
ROUND 1 REMATCHES – BARBOSA AND VIEIRA TRY TO GET BACK ON TRACK
World No. 4 Dener Barbosa and No. 5 Joao Ricardo Vieira are fading in the world title race, and both riders have familiar foes in Round 1.
Barbosa has a rematch in the first round against Lil 2 Train as he tries to overcome an 898.67-point deficit between himself and Leme in the world standings.
Vieira has dropped to 965.5 points behind Leme, and he has a matchup vs. Liston, who bucked him off in 6.54 seconds at the Days of ’47 this summer.
REMATCHES
Alvidrez vs. Ground Assault (4.98 seconds last year at METC)
Dener Barbosa vs. Lil 2 Train (1-1; 88 points in Sioux Falls, South Dakota)
Joao Ricardo Vieira vs. Liston (6.54 seconds at Days of ’47)
Matt Triplett vs. The Good Stuff (7.64 seconds last year at METC)
Article Courtesy of PBR
Photo by: Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
