The Team Series is taking a trip to Florida for Freedom Days, the home of last year’s regular season champions and two-time reigning MVP John Crimber.

By the third weekend of the season, we will be about a quarter of the way through, allowing early contenders for both the World Title and MVP to emerge. And there’s a lot of separation that is needed. Currently, eight of the league’s 10 teams are either 3-2 or 2-3 and top riders are within seven points of the No. 1 spot in the MVP race.

The pressure can ramp up fast, especially for the teams that have already stumbled out of the gate.

Let’s get ready for this weekend with a team-by-team breakdown.

Arizona Ridge Riders

The Ridge Riders are coming off of a 1-2 weekend in Oklahoma and are sitting sixth in the standings at 2-3. They’ve better than their record indicates, though. They’ve scored 963.75 aggregate points this season, which is the ranks third in the league and they have four riders with at least two qualified rides already this season.

The biggest difference between Bulls and Beats and Wildcatter Days for the Freedom was the lack of production from Luciano De Castro and Elizmar Jeremias, who were both 2-for-2 in Colorado, but combined to go 0-for-5 in Oklahoma.

The Ridge Riders will take on the Carolina Cowboys on Friday, the Kansas City Outlaws on Saturday, and finish with the Texas Rattlers on Sunday in what could be one of the marquee games of the weekend.

Austin Gamblers

The Gamblers entered 2026 with championship aspirations once again, but haven’t had the start to their season they wanted. They’re currently seventh with a 2-3 record.

While they have four riders with at least two qualified rides, they have just one rider, Jose Vitor Leme, in the Top 20 in the MVP race.

To make matters worse, he and Dalton Kasel have been the only Gamblers to score on both weekends of competition so far this season.

Last weekend, the Gamblers notched only one qualified ride in two of their three games, both ending in losses.

They still have the depth, though, so It’s not time to panic yet. Sage Kimzey, Dener Barbosa, and Kaique Pacheco will have to fill those holes sooner rather than later, however.

They’ll have a shot to make a statement on Friday when they take on the league-leading Nashville Stampede. They take on the Missouri Thunder Saturday and the Oklahoma Wildcatters in this year’s first edition of rodeo’s Red River Rivalry on Sunday.

Carolina Cowboys

Newcomer Thiago Salgado has been the glue holding the defending champions together in the early going this season. He ranks fourth in the MVP Standings and is the only Cowboy ranked in Top 30, and the only Cowboy with multiple qualified rides. Luckily, he has plenty, he was a perfect 3-for-33 last weekend and was the only rider to do so at the event.

After almost six months off, Clay Guiton debuted last week, but finished 0-for-3 and perhaps most concerning are the struggles of Keyshawn Whitehorse, who joined the team this offseason after a terrific four-year stint with the Ridge Riders. He is 0-for-5 in baby blue so far.

Despite all of this, the Cowboys are 3-2. They take on the Ridge Riders Friday, the Wildcatters Saturday, and the hometown Freedom on Sunday.

Florida Freedom

The Freedom haven’t had too much historical success at their namesake Freedom Days. They’ve gone 4-5 in the three years of the event and were 1-2 in 2025.

This year, they enter their homestead with a record of 3-2. John Crimber leads the team with two qualified rides and sits 12th in the MVP Standings.

The Freedom lost Salgado among others this offseason, but so far their depth has picked up the slack.

Austin Richardson, João Lucas Campos, and Ethan Winckler have teamed up with Crimber, who always produces fireworks, to produce the highest average score in the league at 89.25 points per ride.

The Freedom will need those big scores to stave off the fourth-place Thunder, a team that has the second-best average score, in Game 1 Friday night. They also take on the New York Mavericks and the Cowboys this weekend.

Kansas City Outlaws

The Outlaws had a down weekend in Oklahoma and find themselves in eighth place with a 2-3 record and 707.6 aggregate points.

Their top rider from last season, Koltin Hevalow, has had just three outs in 2026 and registered one qualified ride. Cassio Dias and Heitor Santos Ferreira have also made the whistle just once in 2026.

However, Eric Henrique Domingos and Sandro Batista have been massive bright spots for the Outlaws, combining for five rides in eight outs.

The Outlaws will also get to see their No. 1 overall pick Hayden Welsh in action for the first time this weekend.

They have a chance to get back in the win column right away when they take on the Wildcatters on Friday before tangling with the Ridge Riders and Thunder on Saturday and Sunday.

Missouri Thunder

Paulo Edaurdo Rossetto has been on fire for the Thunder, he is 3-for-5 on the year and leads the MVP race with 269.45 aggregate points.

The Thunder are one of just two teams to have multiple riders in the Top 10 of the MVP Standings as Felipe Furlan joins Rossetto.. Furlan has the best riding percentage of any rider with more than one out. He’s covered three of his four bulls this season.

Just two other members of the Thunder have a qualified ride this season — Julio Cesar Marques and Macaulie Leather.

Cesar Marques is 2-for-5 and still finding his place on the team as a newcomer this offseason, while Leather is 1-for-3, but was 90 to help secure a victory against the Ridge Riders last weekend.

The Thunder close things down Friday against the Freedom and then take on the Gamblers in the first game Saturday before finishing with their rivalry game against the Outlaws on Sunday.

Nashville Stampede

The Stampede are coming off of a perfect 3-0 weekend that vaulted them into first place overall with a 4-1 record and 1067.15 aggregate points.

It’s been a collective effort, the Stampede are the only team to have four riders in the Top 15 of the MVP standings.

Offseason acquisition Riquelmi Silva has already matched a third of his 2025 qualified total after a 3-for-5 start. He is ranked third in the MVP Standings with Rogério Venâncio, who is also 3-for-5, close behind him. Despite being just 2.1 aggregate points off Silva’s pace, Venâncio currently sits seventh.

Gustavo Luiz da Silva and the Stampede’s top producer in 2025, Alan de Souza, are both 2-for-5 and have combined to average more than 90 points per ride.

Finally, Daniel Feitosa is 2-for-4.

That’s the starting five they’ll field Friday night against the always imposing Gamblers. They’ll then matchup with the Rattlers on Saturday before closing the weekend with the Mavericks.

New York Mavericks

The Mavericks are the only winless team in the league and after losing their first two games last weekend by less than five points apiece, they petered out and didn’t reinstate a qualified ride in Game 3 in Oklahoma.

To make matters worse, they have the lowest average score per ride among all teams at 87.11.

While seven riders have scored for the Mavericks this season, just two of them have registered more than one qualified. Mauricio Gulla Moreira and Marco Rizzo.

All of the talk surrounding the Mavericks entering this PBR Teams season was about the strides that several of their riders made on the Unleash the Beast tour. Those strides will need to pay dividends sooner rather than later.

The Mavericks take on the Rattlers, Freedom, and Stampede in what could be another tough weekend.

Oklahoma Wildcatters

The Wildcatters’ homestand last weekend was nearly disastrous as they notched just one qualified rides in their first two games before salvaging by closing with a miraculous comeback.

Wildcatter newcomer Kaiden Loud rode 2-of-3 bulls in front of the home crowd and won Night 1’s MVP with a 91.2-point ride. He then and saved the day on Sunday, riding for 89.75 and keeping the comeback alive against the Ridge Riders.

Those performances helped Loud reach No. 2 in the MVP standings. However, he is currently the only Wildcatter ranked in the Top 30.

That has led to the Wildcatters having the lowest total qualified rides with seven, and the fewest aggregate points with 620.2.

Still, they are 2-3 and are squarely in the mix. They take on the Outlaws, Cowboys, and Gamblers this weekend.

Texas Rattlers

The Rattlers are heading into Florida as the No. 2 team in the league with a 4-1 record and the second-most aggregate points with 972.95.

They’ve started eight different riders in 2026 and seven of them have made a qualified ride. Additionally, only two of those seven have a riding percentage under 50 percent.

They are once again led by Brady Fielder who is back in the MVP mix for a third straight year thanks to a 3-for-5 start.

If the Rattlers get on the board, they win, at least so far. Their only loss has come in a shutout. They’ll look to score and win big Friday against the winless Mavericks before they face the Stampede and Ridge Riders.