Las Vegas —Right now, it's John Crimber's world, we're just living in it.
For a second night in a row, Crimber notched a walk-off-win to help the Florida Freedom advance into the Semifinals of the 2024 PBR Camping World Teams Championship.
Crimber delivers again
On opening night, the Freedom needed a clutch ride in the bottom of the fifth to get past the New York Mavericks and advance to Round 2 of the playoffs and like Michael Jordan in Game 6 - Crimber delivered.
Saturday, Florida found themselves in the same situation, this time against the Texas Rattlers. The reigning champs went into the bottom of the fifth with a 1.5-point lead, meaning the Freedom's playoff fate rested upon the shoulders of Crimber. And once again, the league MVP did not dissapoint. Crimber stayed atop of Mo Money for a game best score of 89.75. So, in come-from-behind fashion, Florida defeated Texas 349.25 - 261. Saturday's victory at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas gave the Freedom their first direct berth to the Semifinals.
Following Saturday's playoff win, the 19-year-old sensation said teamwork was the key.
"We're with each other every single day," Crimber said. "We're working together. This past week we had a training camp before we came here. I'm not going to lie, that's probably the worse pain I ever been through, but I did it with all my teammates and we helped each other. And it really helped with our mental game. We came in here knowing we're coming in first and we weren't going to think about second or third. We're trying to compete for first place."
Rest versus rust is always a concern for teams who earn first round byes during the post season. The extra rest is good in correlation to injuries. But the extra rest can also affect a team's rhythm and momentum. That may have been the case for second ranked Carolina, Saturday night.
Coming off a first-round bye, the Cowboys fell to the Austin Gamblers by the final score of 349.75 - 166. Cooper Davis and Derek Kolbaba were the only two riders from Carolina to post qualifying rides.
Meanwhile, Austin took the momentum gained from surviving the first last chance game, Friday night and used affectively used it during Round 2 Saturday. The Gamblers went 4-for-5 to easily get past the Cowboys and secure their second berth to the Semifinals.
Successful debut for the Outlaws
The top ranked Kansas City Outlaws launched their 2024 playoff campaign and defeated in-state rivals, the Missouri Thunder, 262.5 - 88. Koltin Hevalow, Sandro Batista and Cassio Dias all scored qualifying rides to easily beat the Thunder. With the 174.5-point victory, Kansas City earned the final direct berth to the Semifinals.
Cowboys live to ride another day
No. 2 Carolina Cowboys bounced back from their loss to Austin to win the second Last Chance Game. Carolina eliminated the No. 4 Texas Rattlers and No. 6 Missouri Thunder, 178.75 - 0.00 - 0.00. With the win, the Cowboys advance to the Semifinals.
The 2024 PBR Camping World Teams Championship concludes Sunday, Oct. 20 at 4 p.m. ET, when the following teams will face off:
- No. 1 Kansas City Outlaws vs. No. 5 Austin Gamblers - No. 2 Carolina Cowboys vs. No. 3 Florida Freedom - Third-Place Game (Game 1 Loser vs. Game 2 Loser) - Championship Game (Game 1 Winner vs. Game 2 Winner)
Merit Street Media will broadcast all the remaining action from the final day of the season-ending tournament beginning at 4 p.m. ET.
Desmond Purnell
