PBR Teams: Bass Pro Shops PBR Thunder Days presented by DoorDash marks the sixth event of the 2026 PBR Teams season as the league heads to Ridgedale, Missouri. Action begins Friday, Sept. 4, at 7:45 p.m. CT, continues Saturday, Sept. 5, at 6:45 p.m. CT and concludes Sunday, Sept. 6, at 2:15 p.m. CT at Thunder Ridge Nature Arena.
Friday’s opening night will stream live and exclusively on Paramount+ beginning at 8:45 p.m. ET. The first two games Saturday will also stream live on Paramount+ beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
Sunday features a PBR Teams tripleheader on CBS beginning at noon ET, with the Arizona Ridge Riders taking on the Texas Rattlers, followed by the Florida Freedom against the Carolina Cowboys and concluding with the hometown Missouri Thunder hosting the Kansas City Outlaws. Sunday’s live coverage will begin on The CW App at 3:30 p.m. ET before moving to The CW channel.
HOME SWEET HOME
The Missouri Thunder return to Thunder Ridge Nature Arena with a chance to take over the top spot in the PBR Teams standings.
Missouri enters its homestand at 9-5 and No. 2 in the league after sweeping consecutive weekends in Nashville and Austin to build a six-game winning streak. The Thunder now sit just one game behind the Nashville Stampede, who remain No. 1 at 10-4.
The Thunder will have three opportunities to make their move, beginning Friday against the Florida Freedom before facing the Kansas City Outlaws on Saturday and Austin Gamblers on Sunday.
Missouri’s projected opening-night lineup features Julio Cesar Marques, Kade Madsen, Macaulie Leather, Maverick Smith and Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, giving the home team a group that has helped produce a league-best seven 90-point rides this season.
With Nashville’s once three-game lead now reduced to one, the door is open.
And Missouri gets its next chance to kick it down at home.
THE RACE TO 94
Jose Vitor Leme arrives in Ridgedale with another piece of PBR history within reach.
The three-time PBR World Champion enters Thunder Days leading the PBR Teams MVP race with 1,063.2 points and a league-best 12 qualified rides. He is also tied for the league lead with three 90-point rides this season.
More importantly, Leme enters the weekend sitting on 92 premier-series 90-point rides, just two shy of Chris Shivers’ all-time record of 94.
His first opportunity comes Friday against Nashville when he draws Husky as the Gamblers look to climb from their current 6-8 record.
Two more 90s would put Leme alongside Shivers.
Three would put him alone at the top.
REMATCH RECAP
Several riders will encounter familiar bovine opponents during Friday’s opening slate.
Arizona’s Everton Natan da Silva reunites with J Lazy S after the pair combined for 87.3 points at Gambler Days.
Oklahoma’s Kase Hitt draws I’ll Make Ya Famous after riding him for 87.7 points in Sioux Falls in April, while teammate Kaiden Loud gets another look at Live Wire after their previous meeting resulted in a re-ride.
Nashville’s Rogério Venâncio meets Whiplash for the third time in a calendar year with their series tied 1-1, while Austin’s Vinicius Pinheiro Correa reunites with Tijuana Two-Step after covering him for 88.35 points at the 2025 Challenger Series Championship.
And New York’s Marco Rizzo gets perhaps the most familiar matchup of the night.
Rizzo enters his fourth meeting with El Chapo holding a perfect 3-0 record against the bull, including two qualified rides in Austin.
CLOSING IN AT THE TOP
The PBR Teams standings have tightened considerably over the past two weekends.
Nashville once held a three-game advantage but has lost three of its past five, allowing Missouri and Carolina to close within one game of the top spot. The Stampede enter Thunder Days 10-4, followed by the Thunder and Cowboys at 9-5 and Arizona at 8-6.
Behind them, Texas and Florida sit at 7-7, while Austin and Kansas City are both 6-8. Oklahoma enters at 5-9 and New York remains at 3-11.
With seven regular-season events remaining after Ridgedale and the Teams Championship still ahead in Las Vegas, there is plenty of room for the standings to shift.
But for Missouri, the opportunity is immediate.
Six straight wins have carried the Thunder to within one game of first place.
Now they get three chances to make their move in front of the home crowd.
Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media