The 2026 PBR World Finals has reached its halfway mark with the end of Round 4 on Sunday afternoon.

Four Long Rounds down, four Long Rounds (and a Short Round Sunday) to go next weekend in Dickies Arena, where the 2026 PBR World Champion will be crowned.

With 15 qualified rides on Sunday, the event total now sits at 45 qualified rides through the first four rounds.

It’s been the riders ranked outside the Top 5 who’ve been making the biggest waves in the World Finals, especially in a Round 4 that saw none of the Top 3 riders record a qualified ride.

The 2026 PBR World Title is wide open for the taking, and there are now a plethora of possibilities as to who might hoist The Jerome Robinson Cup when it’s all said and done next Sunday.

Top Performers

Luciano De Castro entered the World Finals ranked 18th in the world standings, and after four rounds, he’s shot up to 11th. He became the new event leader, overtaking Hudson Bolton, with his 90.15-point ride on Sour Patch on Sunday afternoon.

It’s his 13th consecutive qualified ride, which is tied for the fifth-best ride streak in PBR history. It’s De Castro’s fourth 90+ ride of his season and his highest score so far in the World Finals this year.

With World No. 3 Sage Kimzey unable to stay hot after his two round wins to kick things off in Cowtown and World No. 2 Brady Fielder and World No. 1 John Crimber coming to go 1-for-8, De Castro’s World Finals performance so far has opened a path for him to win the World Title.

Besides De Castro, Hudson Bolton is the only other rider to remain a perfect 4-for-4 through the first half of the World Finals, and while he did concede the event lead on Sunday, he remains in second place, trailing De Castro by 1.75 points in the aggregate.

Bolton extended a qualified ride streak of his own to 11 in a row, covering Big Dawg for 88.25 in the Fourth Round. He’s jumped five spots in the World Rankings, now 14th, and like De Castro, Bolton is challenging a backdoor World Title win if he can win the World Finals and claim those 500 UTB Points awarded to the winner.

Kaique Pacheco began his 10th career World Finals with an unfortunate disqualification and followed that with back-to-back buck-offs in Rounds 2 and 3. However, the 2018 PBR World Champion made an incredible recovery, covering Jeffery D for 91.55 and the round win. It’s the best score of his season, and the first 90+ score of his season. Pacheco tied Chris Shivers for the fourth most round wins all time with his 62nd on Sunday.

Claudio Montanha Jr. has put together an exceptional string of rides in Fort Worth, covering his third consecutive bull on Sunday. He was 88.7 on Jameson, vaulting him to third overall in the World Finals.

Trouble at the Top

It’s been a rocky few days for the majority of the top-ranked riders. Four riders who entered the World Finals ranked in the Top 10 have yet to record a qualified ride at the World Finals.

Dalton Kasel, Cort McFadden, Alex Cerqueira, and John Crimber have all begun their World Finals 0-for-4.

Dalton Kasel has had four consecutive close calls, with an average buck-off time of 5.75 seconds, including one lost at 7.49 seconds.

Cort McFadden has been in the middle of battling hip and pelvis injuries, and it’s shown. The previously 10th ranked rider has fallen to 16 in the World Standings.

Alex Cerqueira has lost his consistency at the worst possible time. He’s now been bucked off a season-high five consecutive bulls. He hadn’t had a buck-off streak longer than three for his entire season, until now.

But no one has had a more troubling World Finals performance this year than the No. 1-ranked rider, John Crimber.

Crimber was bucked off Moolah on Sunday and is now in for a dogfight down the stretch to protect the lead of 169.5 UTB Points he entered the World Finals with.

He’s forfeited all of his momentum and now is forced to play a dangerous game of catch-up if he wants to win that elusive Golden Buckle. It’ll be an uphill battle for the 20-year-old, and his only saving grace is that he holds onto a 136.5-point lead on the rest of the Tour.

If anyone has the talent to turn on the afterburners and rack up some Season Points down the stretch, it’s Crimber. But the longer this goes on, the more the pressure ratchets up. He needs a qualified ride, and he needs one fast.

Part of Crimber’s saving grace on Sunday: No. 2 Brady Fielder and No. 3 Sage Kimzey both bucked off. If it ended today, Crimber would still win the World Title.

Rest of the Best

Marco Rizzo needed a ride on Sunday, and that’s exactly what he got. He bucked off his first three bulls in the World Finals, but in Round 4, he covered Magic Touch for 89.75 points. His World Title hopes are fleeting, but his UTB Rookie Of The Year title hopes are alive and well. He led Maverick Smith by just 23 points heading into Round 4 and Rizzo more than doubled his lead over Smith on Sunday. He’s now ahead by 52 Points in the race.

After winning Round 3 with his first 90+ score of the season, Kaiden Loud used his first overall draft choice in Round 4 well, covering The Hondo for a new-season high 90.1 points. Loud jumped four spots to No. 15.

Paulo Edaurdo Rossetto is the only rider who can ride bulls with either hand. He’s found success with his right hand down these world finals, using it for all four bulls, and covering three of them. He rode Dirty South for 88.35 points on Sunday, and left Cowtown sixth in the Event Standings.

Daylon Swearingen picked up his second qualified ride of the World Finals, covering Battle Tested for 90.8 points. Swearingen’s last three rides have all been 90+ after having zero on his first 33 outs of the season. He is a season-high sixth in the World Standings.

World Finals Event Standings

1. Luciano De Castro – 355.40
2. Hudson Bolton – 353.65
3. Claudio Montanha Jr. – 268.90
4. Lucas Divino – 266.05
5. Callum Miller – 262.45
6. Paulo Eduardo Rossetto – 262.10
7. Dener Barbosa – 261.30
8. Sage Kimzey – 183.10
9. Daylon Swearingen – 180.65
10. Kaiden Loud – 180.10
11. Daniel Keeping – 177.95
12. Keyshawn Whitehorse – 177.15
13. Kaique Pacheco – 91.55
14. Julio Cesar Marques – 91.10
15. Thiago Salgado – 90.60

PBR World Standings

1. John Crimber – 984.50
2. Brady Fielder – 848
3. Sage Kimzey – 805
4. Leandro Zampollo – 620.50
5. Paulo Eduardo Rossetto – 582
6. Daylon Swearingen – 563.50
7. Alex Cerqueira – 541.50
8. Dalton Kasel – 506.50
9. Claudo Montanha Jr. – 479.50
10. Keyshawn Whitehorse – 453
11. Luciano De Castro – 446
12. Marco Rizzo – 445
13. Julio Cesar Marques – 442
14. Hudson Bolton – 424
15. Kaiden Loud – 422