Talented teams: the PBR Camping World Team Series provides an enhanced professional bull riding experience (Day 1 of the series)

Coming into our 3rd year of covering professional bull riding via the PBR series (click HERE for our 2022 coverage and click HERE for our 2023 coverage), we're used to the high energy, pulse pounding, and high flying experience (partially due to the bulls throwing the riders off before or after the 8 seconds necessary for a rider to earn a competitive score). However, our experience covering the first two days of the event (July 26-27, 2024 at the Gas South District) provides a creative change via the team series.

Under this format, 8 teams of 5 riders per team square off (in groups of two) against each other. Each rider gets one ride and the team with the highest score wins the match. To take things a little further, the 4 winning teams select one rider to represent them in the "grand finale" for the day, the shootout, as the winning rider secures the win for the day.

Our first day/day 1 coverage (July 26, 2024) consists of the following matchups:

• Texas Rattlers (1-1) vs Florida Freedom (1-1)

• Austin Gamblers (0-2) vs New York Mavericks (0-1)

• Kansas City Outlaws (2-0) vs Nashville Stampede (1-1)

• Arizona Ridge Riders (2-0) vs Carolina Cowboys (2-0)

In the opening series, the Texas Rattlers earn a 174.25-87.75 win over the Florida Freedom. In improving to 2-1, the team of Brady Oleson, Marcelo Pereira, Jesse Petri, Brady Fielder, and Daniel Keeping pace the team to victory and a rise in the overall team standings to 5th overall, as they drop Florida to a 1-2 record (and 6th overall ranking).

The second match sees the Austin Gamblers, the two-time regular season champions, get their first win of the season (1-20 in impressive fashion, as they outscore the New York Mavericks (0-2) by a 260.75 to 0 margin. The team of Dalton Kasel, Ezekiel Mitchell, Kaique Pacheco, Ramon De Lima, and Jose Vitor Leme, pull off some sharp riding to secure the win.

The matchup between the Kansas City Outlaws and Nashville Stampede is a closely contested one. Kansas City's team includes the reigning PBR champion, Cassio Dias, and a solid set of riders including Koltin Hevalow, Sandro Batista, Julio Ceasar Marques, and Bob Mitchell. However, Silvano Alves' walkoff effort, along with that of teammates Ednelio Almeida, Mason Taylor, Alan De Souza, and Kaiden Loud, result in a 257.5 to 175.75 win for Nashville (2-1) as they hand Kansas City their first loss of the season (2-1).

The final matchup pits two undefeated teams against each other. In an unexpected twist, Arizona is unable to secure any points (0), leading to Carolina preserving its undefeated record with a 174.5-0 win. The tandem of Cooper Davis, Derek Kolbaba, Adriano Salgado, Daylon Swearingen, and Sage Steele Kimzey keep the Cowboys at the top of the team standings.

In the shootout round, Nashville's Alan De Souza is the only rider to remain on the bull for the required 8 seconds. His effort secures the round win for the Stampede.

Going into the second day (July 27, 2024), the teams look to remain focused for continued competitive action.

Notes: All video is recorded via Creative Community Solutions (click HERE for the complete playlist). All photos are recorded by EmoryRose Photography. Additional recaps are available at Lens2Pens Podcast (click HERE for the video playlist and click HERE for the podcast).

The series continues through July 28, 2024 (2:45pm start). Our next article provides a recap of the second day of action (July 27, 2024).