Round 3 of the 2026 PBR World Finals concluded Saturday night, and it did not disappoint. The World Title race is as close as it has been in months, and that’s before the 500 points for winning the World Finals Aggregate start to factor in.

Officially, we are third of the way through the World Finals and both the bulls and riders have exchanged heavy blows in Cowtown Coliseum.

The first two rounds were dominated by bull power with just 15 total qualified rides. The riders struck back in the Third Round, though, recording 15 qualified rides Saturday night, doubling the event’s total.

Top Performers

While the top-ranked riders clamor for superiority in the World Standings, No. 15 Hudson Bolton has out-ridden them. Bolton covered Stryker for 89.35 points and his third ride in the 2026 World Finals.

The 2025 UTB Rookie Of The Year now sits atop the 2026 World Finals event rankings with 265.40 Aggregate Points and has ridden 11 of his last 12 bulls, including 10 straight rides.

Bolton made history with that 10th consecutive ride, as a double-digit ride streak has occurred less than 30 times in PBR history (dating back to 2004). He’s brought his riding percentage to 58.62%, which now leads the Tour.

Luciano De Castro only trails Bolton by .15 aggregate points, however, and is the only other rider to cover all three of his bulls in the World Finals.

De Castro currently holds a double-digit ride streak of his own, having ridden his last 12 consecutive bulls. Only five riders in PBR history have ridden 12 consecutive bulls, and he’s tied with Brady Fielder, who rode 12 in a row last season, in fourth for the longest ride streak ever.

To get there, De Castro covered Apple Juicing for 87.55 points on Saturday Night.

After two rounds of dominance from Sage Kimzey, it was Brady Fielder’s turn to shine in Fort Worth.

After bucking off his first two bulls in the World Finals, No. 2 Brady Fielder got a much-needed ride in a night where both No. 1 John Crimber and No. 3 Sage Kimzey bucked off.

Fielder refused fall back into a slump akin to his mid-season struggles, covering Ridin’ Salty for 89.55 points in a crucial bounce-back.

It was the second-best ride of the night, and while a World Finals Round win would have been great, Fielder was focused on getting to eight seconds.

“It can get a little tricky sometimes, just had to stay completely settled within myself, and go out and ride the way I do,” he said.

Fielder will have the second pick in Round Four’s bull draft, giving him the upper hand in finding success Sunday.

He now sits just 136.5 points behind Crimber, who has yet to record a qualified ride in the World Finals.

And with that, the World Title pendulum continues to swing back and forth between the Top 3.

After bucking off his last eight bulls, Kaiden Loud came prepared Saturday night. He won the round with a 90-point ride on Dana White’s Playmate. It’s Loud’s first 90+ score of the season and his first round win. It earned him a jump in the standings as well, he now sits 19th.

Missed Opportunities

No. 4 Leandro Zampollo has not looked like the same bull rider he was throughout much of the regular season.

The World Finals are just the second event Zampollo has participated in since suffering an unfortunate groin injury at PBR Albuquerque.

He has been bucked off all three of his bulls in Fort Worth and no longer leads the tour in riding percentage.

He covered a tour-best seven Short Round bulls during the regular season, but has struggled against that same level of competition now in the World Finals.

Zampollo has managed to keep his spot in the World Standings, but it’ll be an uphill climb to avoid being jumped by several cowboys behind due to the UTB Points awarded for the World Finals Aggregate.

Sage Kimzey couldn’t keep his momentum from two straight round wins to kick off the World Finals. He bucked off Truax’s Bear Cat in 5.8 seconds. Kimzey dropped to third in the World Finals Aggregate, but is still in excellent position to shake things up going forward. In fact, if the season ends today, Kimzey would bank enough points in the Aggregate to power him to a Gold Buckle.

After bucking off his first bull and slapping his second bull in a ride that could have been the round winner, John Crimber was primed to score big on Saturday night.

Instead, disaster struck, and in a re-ride opportunity against Hoobastank, Crimber was bucked off in 2.51 seconds, falling to 0-for-3 in the event.

After an incredible regular season that set him up to win his first-ever PBR World Title, he’s dug himself into a hole that won’t be easy to get out of.

With 984.5 season points to his name, there’s now just 136.5 points separating him from No. 2 Brady Fielder, and 179.5 points from No. 3 Sage Kimzey. Without a ride under his belt yet, it may be tricky for Crimber to find a path to that Golden Buckle, and with each passing buck-off, it gets trickier.

Bottom line, Crimber needs a qualified ride on Sunday. He’ll have to beat the odds, though, as that 2.51-second buckoff time means he’ll have a late pick in Round 4 bull draft, putting him at a serious risk of falling to 0-for-4.

Standings Movement

Up The Standings

No.15 Hudson Bolton: +4

No.13 Luciano De Castro: +3

No. 29 Lucas Divino: +3

No. 36 Mauricio Gulla Moreira: +3

No. 48 Mason Taylor: +3

No. 9 Claudio Montanha Jr.: +2

No. 19 Kaiden Loud: +1

No. 24 Callum Miller: +1

No. 37 Manoelito de Souza Junior: +1

No. 42 Andy Guzman: +1

No. 44 Alex Junior da Silca: +1

Down The Standings

No. 17 Bob Mitchell: -2

No. 38 Trace Redd: -2

No. 39 Afonso Quintino: -2

No. 10 Keyshawn Whitehorse: -1

No. 11 Julio Cesar Marques: -1

No. 14 Cort McFadden: -1

No. 18 Cassio Dias: -1

No. 20 Maverick Smith: -1

No. 30 Felipe Furlan: -1

No. 30 Eduardo Aparecido: -1

No. 32 Kaique Pacheco: -1

No. 45 Alison dos Santos: -1

Stats to Know

With his third out in the World Finals, Maverick Smith finally got the ride he needed. Smith covered Peso for 87.6 points, and after two previous World Final buck-offs, his ride Saturday gave him a bump in the UTB Rookie Of The Year standings. Smith, who trailed Marco Rizzo by 43 UTB Points heading into the event, now trails by 29.

Nine bull riders have two or more qualified rides in the World Final. Hudson Bolton and Luciano de Castro are a perfect 3-for-3.

Claudio Montanha Jr. entered the top 10, now ranked 9th, with 461.5 UTB Points. He has covered his last two.

Andy Guzman made his first career PBR World Finals qualified ride, covering Smooth Violation for 87.2. As did Alex Junior da Silva, covering Constant Payne for 88.45.

The bulls have started all three rounds 5-0.