Desmond Purnell
Las Vegas — Sometimes you have to go through the bad times to get to the good ones.
The Austin Gamblers reached the PBR Teams Championship Round last season and lost. That heartbreaking setback fueled Austin this postseason. The Gamblers seized the championship moment this go around. Sunday at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Austin defeated the Carolina Cowboys 357.5 - 252.5 to capture its first ever PBR Teams Championship.
Austin saved their very best for the last day of the PBR Teams season. In order to reach the championship round, the No. 5 Gamblers had to get past the No. 1 Kansas City Outlaws in the Semifinals first. Not only did Austin upset K.C. but they did so in perfect fashion. The Gamblers went 5-for-5 beating the Outlaws by a final score of 432.75 - 357.5. It was the only perfect game during the league’s 2024 Championship event. It was the sixth perfect game of the 2024 season.
The No. 2 Carolina Cowboys would join Austin in the final round after defeating No. 3 Florida Freedom 178.25 - 90.75. It was the first time for Carolina to reach the championship round.
Both teams came out of the chutes swinging. The first four outs were all qualified rides resulting in three lead changes.
Fast forward to the top of the fifth. PBR World Champion and two-time PBR Teams MVP Jose Vitor Leme had a chance to deliver the knockout punch for Austin. And he would do just that. Atop Tijuana Two-Step, Leme delivered an impressive 89-point ride to seal the deal for the Gamblers.
Let the champagne flow... The Austin Gamblers are PBR Teams Champions.
"There are no words to describe that moment because of the happiness, you know, you feel like you took 500,000 pounds off your back," Jose Vitor Leme said. "All you did during the season, all the work, everything we've been through, to finally lift that buckle, man, it's a dream come true."
"To share that moment with this group of guys, it's something you can't emulate," said Gamblers Head Coach Michael Gaffney. "This is a whole team, the ownership, we're blessed to have them behind us every step of the way to give us everything we need. It's totally euphoria. I can't express it."
"The things that are harder to get in life you cherish more," Gamblers General Manager & CEO JJ Gottsch said. "And I truly believe that we will cherish this a lot more than if we would have those first two seasons when we had more success during the regular season. So, to go through the struggles that we did this year, to be able to get this buckle, it's an amazing thing."
Other news and notes
- No. 2 Kansas City Outlaws took third place on the Final Day of the 2024 PBR Camping World Teams Championship , beating the No. 3 Florida Freedom 176.25 - 89.25.
- Florida Freedom Superstar John Crimber already had the regular season PBR Teams MVP award under his belt. After going a perfect 4-for-4 over the weekend, Crimber was also named the PBR Teams Championship Event MVP.
-Silvano Alves announced his retirement from PBR. Alves retires as the most decorated rider in PBR history.
He’s one of only two riders to win three World Championships and one of two riders ever to win two back-to-back. He was the 2010 Rookie of the Year, and in 2011, his first world title season, he had an eye-popping 69% riding percentage. He’s second on the all-time money earners list with $6,787,339.99 and added a fourth title with the inaugural PBR Teams Championship in 2022.
* Photo Credit - Bull Stock Media
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