New 2024 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast Format to Feature 10 Rounds in Three Venues, While Awarding a Record $3.13 Million in Prize Money
Bull riding’s most prestigious event to begin with Eliminations at Dickies Arena (May 10-13), followed by Ride For Redemption at Cowtown Coliseum (May 15-16) and concluding with the Championship at AT&T Stadium (May 18-19)
FORT WORTH, Texas (August 22, 2023) – PBR (Professional Bull Riders) today announced a revolutionary format change for the 2024 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast and beyond, while also increasing the prize purse for bull riding’s most prestigious event to a record $3.13 million.
Beginning in 2024, the PBR World Finals feature 10 rounds of action split across three venues in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex in a playoff-type format, including a first-of-its kind set of rounds for eliminated competitors to ride their way back into the World Finals.
The 2024 PBR World Finals will begin May 10-13 taking over Dickies Arena and May 15-16 at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas, before coming to a climactic end at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on May 18-19.
The record prize purse – awarding in excess of $3.13 million – has been increased by nearly a half-million dollars from the 2023 iteration of the event.
“Qualifying for PBR World Finals is one of the most challenging feats in sports, and now every rider has to keep earning their place all the way through our sport’s most grueling and prestigious event,” said Sean Gleason, PBR CEO and Commissioner. “’Survive and advance’ has come to World Finals in our most unique and exciting event format.”
ELIMINATIONS (4 Rounds) – Dickies Arena (May 10-13)
The 2024 PBR World Finals will begin in Fort Worth at Dickies Arena, on May 10-13, for Eliminations, featuring the Top 40 riders from the Unleash The Beast standings, joined by the five invited riders advancing via the Velocity Tour Finals. During the elimination rounds, each of the 45 competing riders will attempt one bull daily.
Following the four days of action, the Top 15 in the Unleash The Beast standings, and the Top 5 in the event aggregate, not already advancing, will earn a direct berth to the 2024 PBR World Finals Championship in Arlington, Texas, at AT&T Stadium on May 18-19.
During the Eliminations, more than $770,000 will be paid out, with the top scorer daily inside Dickies Arena collecting $35,000, and the winner of the four rounds netting $150,000.
RIDE FOR REDEMPTION (2 Rounds) – Cowtown Coliseum (May 15-16)
Before the PBR bucks into the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, the World Finals’ Ride For Redemption will take over iconic Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, from May 15-16, featuring the 25 riders not advancing from Eliminations, joined by 15 riders from PBR Teams in a selection process to be announced. In a format rarely seen in a major sport’s title event, competitors will have their chance to ride back into the World Finals Championship where they can compete for the title of 2024 PBR World Champion and 2024 PBR World Finals event winner.
All 40 riders will attempt one bull each nightly, and those contenders with the Top 5 scores in the aggregate will earn a berth to the PBR World Finals Championship in Arlington.
The World Finals Ride For Redemption, held at the famed, newly renovated rodeo arena where PBR held its first event in 1993, will award nearly $23,000 nightly, which is nearly double the payout awarded during a regular season Unleash The Beast round.
CHAMPIONSHIP (4 Rounds) – AT&T Stadium (May 18-19)
The 2024 PBR World Finals will come to a climactic end with the Championship event at AT&T Stadium from May 18-19, featuring the 20 advancing riders from the elimination rounds at Dickies Arena and the five competitors who punched their tickets via Ride For Redemption at Cowtown Coliseum. Each day of competition will feature two rounds, with Rounds 1-2 on May 18, followed by Rounds 3-4 on May 19.
While the riders who earned a berth via Eliminations are guaranteed to compete in all four Championship rounds, contenders who advanced via Ride For Redemption must record a score in Round 1 to advance to Round 2 and then log a qualified ride in Round 2 to remain in the World Finals Championship for Rounds 3-4.
At the conclusion of Round 4 at the 2024 PBR World Finals Championship the new World Champion will be the No. 1-ranked rider in the Unleash The Beast standings. The 2024 PBR World Finals event winner will be the rider with the top aggregate score across the four rounds of action inside AT&T Stadium.
Inside AT&T Stadium, PBR will award more than $2.31 million, including the $1 million bonus to the 2024 PBR World Champion, $350,000 to the World Finals event winner, and $50,000 to each of the four Championship round winners.
Multi-day ticket packages for the 2024 PBR World Finals Eliminations, Ride For Redemption and Championship go on-sale Monday, October 9 at 10 a.m. CT, with single-day tickets available starting Friday, November 10 at 10 a.m. CT. Visit www.PBR.com/WorldFinals for more information.
Stay tuned to PBR.com for the latest news and results and be sure to follow the sport on all social media platforms at @PBR.
About PBR (Professional Bull Riders):
PBR is the world’s premier bull riding organization. More than 800 bull riders compete in more than 200 events annually across the televised PBR Unleash The Beast tour (UTB), which features the top bull riders in the world; the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour (PWVT); the PBR Touring Pro Division (TPD); and the PBR’s international circuits in Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico. In 2022, PBR launched the PBR Team Series—eight teams of the world’s best bull riders competing for a new championship—as well as the PBR Challenger Series with more than 60 annual events nationwide. The organization’s digital assets include PBR RidePass on Pluto TV, which is home to Western sports. PBR is a subsidiary of Endeavor, a global sports and entertainment company. For more information, visit PBR.com, or follow on Facebook at Facebook.com/PBR, Twitter at Twitter.com/PBR, and YouTube at YouTube.com/PBR.
1
