The 2026 UTB season was the 33rd season of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) premier series and the ninth season under the Unleash the Beast Series (UTB) branding. The regular season began on December 12, 2025, in Manchester, New Hampshire, and concluded on April 26, 2026, in Tacoma, Washington. The 2026 PBR World Finals began in Fort Worth, Texas, on May 7 and concluded on May 17, with John Crimber being crowned the PBR World Champion.
Rule changes Beginning with the 2026 season, the PBR revised its scoring system to allow judges to award scores in increments of one-tenth of a point for both riders and bulls. Previously, scores were generally awarded in half-point increments. The change was intended to provide greater differentiation between performances at the highest level of competition. Under the revised rules, a rider's score also cannot exceed the corresponding bull score by more than three points.
Schedule The 2026 schedule consisted of 18 regular season events, including one major, followed by the 2026 PBR World Finals.
Bolded events indicate that the event is a major.
No. Event Date Venue Location 1 PBR Manchester December 12–13, 2025 SNHU Arena Manchester, New Hampshire 2 Modo Casino PBR Chicago December 19–20, 2025 United Center Chicago, Illinois 3 PBR Boston: One if by Dirt, Two if by Sea January 2–3, 2026 TD Garden Boston, Massachusetts 4 PBR Monster Energy Buck Off at the Garden presented by Ariat January 9–11, 2026 Madison Square Garden New York City, New York 5 Busch Light PBR Milwaukee presented by Cooper Tires January 16–17, 2026 Fiserv Forum Milwaukee, Wisconsin 6 PBR Tampa January 23–24, 2026 Benchmark International Arena Tampa, Florida 7 Ariat PBR Sacramento presented by Cooper Tires January 30–February 1, 2026 Golden 1 Center Sacramento, California 8 PBR Salt Lake City presented by Busch Light February 6–7, 2026 Delta Center Salt Lake City, Utah 9 U.S. Border Patrol PBR Pittsburgh presented by Ariat February 13–14, 2026 PPG Paints Arena Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania 10 Progressive PBR Jacksonville February 20–21, 2026 VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena Jacksonville, Florida 11 PBR Bridgeport February 27–28, 2026 Total Mortgage Arena Bridgeport, Connecticut 12 Kubota PBR Little Rock March 6–7, 2026 Simmons Bank Arena N. Little Rock, Arkansas 13 PBR Florida State March 13–14, 2026 Doak Campbell Stadium Tallahassee, Florida 14 PBR Indianapolis presented by Cooper Tires March 21–22, 2026 Gainbridge Fieldhouse Indianapolis, Indiana 15 PBR Albuquerque Ty Murray Invitational March 27–29, 2026 The Pit Albuquerque, New Mexico 16 First PREMIER Bank PBR Sioux Falls April 10–12, 2026 Denny Sanford PREMIER Center Sioux Falls, South Dakota 17 PBR Billings April 17–18, 2026 First Interstate Arena at MetraPark Billings, Montana 18 Cooper Tires PBR Tacoma April 24–25, 2026 Tacoma Dome Tacoma, Washington 19 PBR World Finals: Unleash the Beast May 7–10, 2026 Cowtown Coliseum Fort Worth, Texas May 14–17, 2026 Dickies Arena
Season summary PBR Manchester
The 2026 season began at the PBR Manchester in Manchester, New Hampshire, where 13 riders recorded qualified rides during the opening round. Paulo Eduardo Rossetto won Round 1 with an 87.75-point ride on Dirty South, earning 28 points and the early lead in the world standings. Alex Cerqueira finished second with 86.85 points, followed by Dalton Kasel with 86.75 points.
Kasel ultimately won the event after recording an 89.50-point ride on UTZ BesTex Smokestack in the Championship Round, finishing with a three-round aggregate score of 261.60 points. Julio Cesar Marques finished second with 260.70 points after recording the event's highest score of 89.55 points in the Championship Round, while Kaiden Loud, Callum Miller, and Rossetto completed the top five. Kasel earned 128 points for the victory and took the lead in the world standings following the season-opening event.
Modo Casino PBR Chicago
The following week, the tour traveled to Chicago, Illinois, for Modo Casino PBR Chicago at the United Center. Julio Cesar Marques, Cleber Henrique Marques, and Joao Lucas Campos shared the Round 1 victory after each recorded an 86.30-point ride. Eduardo Aparecido finished fourth with 85.90 points, while Maverick Smith and Heitor Santos Ferreira tied for fifth with 85.50 points.
Marco Rizzo won the event to earn the first PBR victory of his career after going a perfect 3-for-3 and recording a 90.25-point ride on two-time PBR Bull of the Year Man Hater in the Championship Round. Rizzo finished with a 259.50-point aggregate, narrowly defeating Aparecido, who finished second with 259.25 points. Leandro Zampollo finished third after also going 3-for-3, while Paulo Eduardo Rossetto and Kaiden Loud rounded out the top five. The victory earned Rizzo 130 points and moved him to second in the world standings, six points behind series leader Dalton Kasel.
PBR Boston: One if by Dirt, Two if by Sea
The tour then traveled to Boston, Massachusetts, for PBR Boston: One if by Dirt, Two if by Sea, marking the PBR's debut at TD Garden. Daylon Swearingen won Round 1 with an 87.70-point ride on Hector, while Marco Rizzo finished second with 87.55 points and Bob Mitchell placed third with 87.20 points. Claudio Montanha Jr. and John Crimber completed the top five. The event's opening round also resulted in a tie for the lead of the world standings, as Dalton Kasel and Rizzo each held 148 points.
Brady Fielder won the event after becoming the only rider to record qualified rides in all three rounds. He clinched the victory with a 91.20-point ride on Eyes On Me in the Championship Round, finishing with a 265.15-point aggregate. Marco Rizzo finished second despite bucking off in the Championship Round, while John Crimber, Claudio Montanha Jr., and Clay Guiton completed the top five. The victory was Fielder's first of the season and moved him to second in the world standings, while Rizzo retained the overall lead after three events.
PBR Monster Energy Buck Off at the Garden presented by Ariat
The tour then stopped in New York City for the PBR Monster Energy Buck Off at the Garden presented by Ariat at Madison Square Garden. Sage Kimzey won Round 1 with a 90.60-point ride on Blue Duck, the second-highest score of the 2026 season at that point. Clay Guiton finished second with 89.10 points, while Julio Cesar Marques placed third with 88.65 points. Koltin Hevalow and Callum Miller completed the top five. Marco Rizzo retained the lead in the world standings after the round, while Brady Fielder remained second.
On the second night of competition, Leandro Zampollo won the second round for the first UTB round victory of his career, recording an 87.80-point ride on The HONDO. Callum Miller finished second with 87.70 points and took the lead in the event aggregate standings with 174.85 points, three-tenths of a point ahead of Julio Cesar Marques. Kaiden Loud recorded the third-highest score of the round with 86.50 points, while Cort McFadden and Cassio Dias rounded out the top five. Marco Rizzo remained the leader in the world standings despite failing to record a qualified ride in Round 2.
Kimzey won the event after becoming the only rider to go a perfect 4-for-4 during the season's first three-day event. He clinched the victory with a 92.05-point ride on Lights Out in the Championship Round, which was the highest score of the season at that point, finishing with a 350.80-point aggregate. Julio Cesar Marques finished second, followed by Clay Guiton, Callum Miller, and Leandro Zampollo. The victory moved Kimzey to third in the world standings, while Marques overtook Rizzo for the overall lead after earning 112 points at the event.
Busch Light PBR Milwaukee presented by Cooper Tires
The tour then traveled to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, for Busch Light PBR Milwaukee presented by Cooper Tires at Fiserv Forum. Hudson Bolton won Round 1 with an 88.65-point ride on Fast & Furious, earning the first UTB round victory of his career. John Crimber finished second with 87.80 points, followed by Marco Rizzo with 87.45 points. The round also tightened the race for the world championship, with Julio Cesar Marques retaining the lead in the standings while Rizzo and Sage Kimzey remained close behind.
Kasel won the event after going a perfect 3-for-3 and clinching the victory with a 92.35-point ride on Raging Bull in the Championship Round. He finished with a 269.30-point aggregate to earn his second event victory of the season. Julio Cesar Marques finished second, followed by Hudson Bolton, John Crimber, and Paulo Eduardo Rossetto. Kasel earned 136 points for the victory and moved within two points of Marques for the lead in the world standings.
PBR Tampa
The tour then made a stop in Tampa, Florida, for PBR Tampa at Amalie Arena. Jess Lockwood won Round 1 with an 88.70-point ride, earning his first round victory of the 2026 season. Dalton Kasel finished second and took the lead in the world standings, while Julio Cesar Marques fell from first to second in the championship race.
Lockwood won the event after going a perfect 3-for-3, earning his first premier series event victory since 2020. He clinched the victory with an 88.45-point ride on Game Changer in the Championship Round, finishing with a 259.05-point aggregate. Dalton Kasel finished second, followed by Julio Cesar Marques, Cassio Dias, and Eduardo Aparecido. The victory earned Lockwood 130 points and moved him into the top five of the world standings, while Kasel retained the overall lead.
Ariat PBR Sacramento presented by Cooper Tires
The tour then traveled to Sacramento, California, for Ariat PBR Sacramento presented by Cooper Tires at Golden 1 Center. José Vitor Leme won Round 1 with an 89.30-point ride on Reaper, earning his first round victory of the 2026 season. Leme's performance also moved him up the world standings as the season continued.
On the second night of competition, Kasel won Round 2 with a 90.65-point ride on Huckleberry, extending his lead atop the world standings. Leme finished second with 89.45 points, while Sage Kimzey placed third with 88.90 points. Kasel's victory marked his second round win of the 2026 season and further strengthened his position in the race for the World Championship.
John Crimber won the event after becoming the only rider to go a perfect 4-for-4, earning the victory with a 351.75-point aggregate. He clinched the win with a 90.75-point ride in the Championship Round, narrowly defeating Dalton Kasel, who finished second. Leme finished third, followed by Sage Kimzey and Brady Fielder. The victory was Crimber's first of the 2026 season and moved him to third in the world standings, while Kasel retained the overall lead.
PBR Salt Lake City presented by Busch Light
The tour then traveled to Salt Lake City, Utah, for PBR Salt Lake City presented by Busch Light at Delta Center. Alex Cerqueira won Round 1 with an 88.40-point ride, earning his first round victory of the 2026 season. Dalton Kasel finished second and extended his lead atop the world standings.
Paulo Eduardo Rossetto won the event after going a perfect 3-for-3, earning his second event victory of the 2026 season. He clinched the win with a 90.30-point ride in the Championship Round and finished with a 265.05-point aggregate. Alex Cerqueira finished second, followed by John Crimber, Dalton Kasel, and Julio Cesar Marques. The victory moved Rossetto up the world standings, while Crimber took the overall lead from Kasel.