The PBR Unleash the Beast Tour is making its 17th stop of the season in Billings, Montana. It marks the 30th time the PBR’s top tour has barnstormed the largest city in the Treasure State.

Last year, it was a duel between Hudson Bolton and Luciano De Castro for the event win. Both riders covered all three of their bulls, but de Castro had more than seven points on Bolton in the Aggregate, winning him the event.

One of the main stories this year is how close the Standings remain with just two regular season events remaining. Yes, John Crimber has put a little difference between himself and the rest of the field, but things have tightened up elsewhere.

Less than 100 points separate 10th from fifth and little over 90 points separate fifth from third, but over 300 points separate third-place Leandro Zampollo from Crimber.

Top 5 Report

John Crimber (899.5 Points)

Crimber is coming off the best weekend of his season, winning PBR Sioux Falls by covering all four of his bulls to widen his lead in the World Rankings from 47 to 220.5 points. He was not only the bull rider to be perfect in Sioux Falls, he also won the last three rounds. He now leads the tour in both qualified rides (25) and round wins (5).

Looking forward to PBR Billings, Crimber can ride calm, cool, and collected with his 220.5-point buffer. His position puts pressure on the entire rest of the Tour and he’ll take on Rack ‘em Willie in the bull’s maiden voyage in UTB.

Sage Kimzey (679 Points)

After bucking off a season-high five consecutive bulls, Kimzey reinvigorated himself with an 89.3 on Jameson in Sioux Falls’ Third Round, which came on a re-ride just minutes after he dislocated his shoulder. This got him into the Short Go, his first since winning PBR Little Rock.

A few weeks ago, Kimzey looked unstoppable. Now, he’s playing catch-up.

Friday night Kimzey will take on Slim Pickens, representing the Austin Gamblers in their Semifinal game against the Kansas City Outlaws. Slim Pickens was ridden for 86.05 last week by Daylon Swearingen, and Kimzey has covered in 3-of-4 Team Challenge bulls this season.

A crucial ride in more ways than one, Kimzey needs a momentum shift.

Leandro Zampollo (595.5 Points)

Zampollo took last week off and risked losing position in the standings. However, that didn’t happen. Zampollo is still in third place and positioned to make a late-season swing. The only thing missing from Zampollo’s outstanding season is his first career event win.

If he wants to get it done in Billings, he will have to get by a challenging bull in Torched, who is 14-2 in his career.

Brady Fielder (593 Points)

After two masterful performances in Indianapolis and Albuquerque, Fielder missed his opportunity in Sioux Falls. He was bucked off all three bulls and was unable to pass Leandro Zampollo, who only led him by 2.5 UTB Points.

Like Zampollo, however, Fielder is still in a fine position and can get back in the ride column on Friday when he faces the untested Triple Trouble.

Fielder leads the Tour in total outs with 46 and in Short Round appearances with 10. He sits in the Top 10 for total qualified rides, ride percentage, average score, round wins, and 90+ point rides.

Alex Cerqueira (502.5 points)

Cerqueira is the new face in this week’s Top 5 rankings, bumping Paulo Eduardo Rossetto to sixth. He made his second straight Championship Round in Sioux Falls, and in doing so tied John Crimber for the most qualified rides on Tour with 25. He also ranks second on Tour in total outs (45) and has the fifth-best ride percentage at 55.56%.

He’ll face Max Bet on Friday, who was just ridden for 87.7 by Claudio Montanha Jr last week.

Team Challenge Preview

The penultimate match of the 2026 Team Challenge season begins Friday Night between the 2nd-seed Austin Gamblers and the 3rd-seed Kansas City Outlaws.

Seven riders from each team will ride to determine the winner. The notables in the lineup for the Gamblers include Sage Kimzey, last week’s Round 1 winner Dener Barbosa, and World No. 7 Dalton Kasel.

Meanwhile, the Outlaws are led by Koltin Hevalow and Cassio Dias, but the rest of their lineup is largely untested. Outside of those two, their highest ranked rider is Andy Guzman at No. 43.

The winner will take on the Missouri Thunder on April 24th at PBR Tacoma for the 2026 Team Challenge Championship.

Trending Up

Claudio Montanha Jr: Back-to-back big weekends from the 36-year-old Brazilian have shot him up the rankings to No. 13. He’s covered seven of his last eight bulls. In that time, he made consecutive Short Rounds, covering both bulls for 90+. He improved his Short Round riding percentage to percent for the year, covering 3-of-5. Heading into PBR Billings, Montanha is just 16 UTB Points out of the Top 10. He faces 7-1 Truax’s Bear Cat, who averages a 42.9 BullScore. If Montanha stays hot, he could be for a lot of points.

Dener Barbosa: In just two PBR UTB events belt this season, Dener Barbosa has already left a lasting impact on Tour. In Sioux Falls last week Barbosa exploded for 93.1 points atop the best bull in the world, Pegasus. He finished PBR Sioux Falls in fifth, covering two bulls total. His first qualified ride of the season was the one on Pegasus. Barbosa’s next challenge will be a young bull named King Cobra in the middle of the Austin Gamblers’ lineup.

Trending Down

Julio Cesar Marques: Marques was able to make the Short Go for the for the first time since Little Rock in Sioux Falls, but still finished just 1-for-4 in 15th place due to making it because of injuries. He’s covered three of his last 11 bulls and is tied with Marco Rizzo in 11th with 392 UTB Points. The end-of-season stagnation that Cesar Marques has inflicted upon himself is troubling, but he’ll get an opportunity on Friday night against Crockett to turn it around.

Callum Miller: Miller has gone four events without covering a bull. That amounts to bucking off of his last 10 bulls. He now sits No. 25 in the World Standings. Miller took Sioux Falls off and will return Friday to face 3-0 Koopatroopa in a crucial ride for both himself and the Gamblers.

Round 1 Matchups to Watch

Dalton Kasel v Noslaw Extrasauce: The last ride of Friday night’s action is more special than usual. Dalton Kasel will make his return after last weekend’s absence in the final out in the Team Challenge Semifinal against the Kansas City Outlaws. Kasel is No. 7 is in the World but just 14 points shy of re-entering the Top 5. Riders have found success on Noslaw Extrasauce; he has been ridden seven times out of 16 outs and has an average Bull Score of 42.3. Kasel could score big, not only for himself, but for his Gamblers.

Paulo Eduardo Rossetto v Dirty Honey:Paulo Eduardo Rossetto pulled out of PBR Sioux Falls after the Second Round, not having ridden a bull, losing his fifth-place ranking. He got an excellent draw, though, in Billings’ First Round, facing Dirty Honey. The bull’s last out was for 44.15 points in Salt Lake City.