Stop No. 15 of the PBR UTB season is a special one as for the 29th year in a row, the Tour heads Albuquerque for the Ty Murray Invitational.

It’s the third three-day event of the year, chock-full of A-list matchups fitting for “The Pit’s” atmosphere.

Top 5 Report

John Crimber (689 points)
Crimber has covered five of his last seven bulls for an average of 88.02 points. He’s done everything he needed to do to earn and maintain his No. 1 spot. Interestingly, though, Crimber doesn’t lead the Tour in any significant statistical category. He’s in the Top 5 in stats such as average score, qualified rides, and ride percentage, proving he belongs with the best of the best. But with only 33 points separating him from No. 2 Kimzey, Crimber would like to remind the world just why he’s the best. He has the perfect opportunity to do that atop the unridden Buck Nasty in the Team Challenge Semifinal. Crimber’s ride holds a multitude of implications, and he has a chance to make a real statement Friday night.

Sage Kimzey (656 points)
Kimzey has cooled off in the past two events, riding just a single bull in each. Regardless, he leads the Tour in five major statistical categories: event wins (3), round wins (5), 90+ point rides (5), riding percentage (65.63%), and qualified rides (21).

Kimzey has made the Championship Round in both three-day events this season, winning in NYC. He has a good opportunity for points on Kippers Rippers, which was covered for the first time last week by Brady Fielder for 87.65. Kippers Rippers has produced four consecutive Bull Scores lower than its last. Kimzey could find a huge advantage in covering Kippers Rippers in a slump.

Leandro Zampollo (542.5 points)
Zampollo continues to build upon his magical season with his sixth Top 3 finish this year in Indianapolis. He once again made the white in the Championship Round to improve on a Tour-best six qualified rides against the best bulls in the world. Zampollo is still chasing his first career win, though. If there’s one thing the Brazilian has proved this season, it is that he can ride whatever is thrown at him; he has the third-best riding percentage at 61.76%. He is uniquely prepared for this weekend’s increase in bovine skill. Zampollo takes on one of the toughest bulls in Oyster Creek Brawler, which, in its two buckoffs this year, went for 45.35 and 44.05 points.

Brady Fielder (501 points)
Fielder had the best weekend of his season in Indianapolis last week at exactly the time he needed it. He won his second event of the year, with each win bookending a rough stretch of mediocrity. Now fourth in the World Rankings, Fielder has caught fire in the home stretch of the season.

He faces 49-11 Ghost Face, which bucked him off once before in 2024’s Ty Murray Invitational. It’s a tall order, but Fielder can take a big step ahead of the rest with a ride Friday night.

Paulo Eduardo Rossetto (465 points)
Rossetto has had a bumpy ride around the Top 10 this season, but has stabilized. He has covered an impressive four bulls in his eight Championship Round appearances this season. So far, that has earned him six Top 5 finishes, including an event win.

The ambidextrous rider has covered four of his last eight bulls heading into Albuquerque, where he’ll ride 8-2 X-Factor in its first UTB out since 2022. Rossetto won’t just be riding for himself; he’ll be representing the Missouri Thunder as they face the Florida Freedom in the Team Challenge 7×7 Semifinal.

Trending Up

Marco Rizzo: After enduring a brutal mid-season slump, Rizzo found his rhythm last week, riding consecutive bulls for the first time since PBR Boston in early January. He re-entered the Top 10, ranked 10th. He faces Tacky Jack, which has bucked off seven consecutive riders. The bull’s average score is 43.55. If Rizzo succeeds, he’s in for a lot of points.

Maverick Smith: Maverick Smith has covered five of his last six bulls, earning him his third and fourth Top 6 finishes in his last six events. In fact, he could have ridden six consecutively but chose a re-ride over keeping a 78 in Indianapolis’ Short Round. He was bucked off Elmo chasing the event win, but that reinforces his strong mentality and toughness, two things he’ll need against unridden Hurricane Friday night.

Trending Down

Andrew Alvidrez: Since winning PBR Bridgeport, Alvidrez hasn’t recorded a qualified ride. He has bucked off his last five bulls spanning three events. He has the worst riding percentage among the Top 30 ranked riders at 29.41%.

Koltin Hevalow: Hevalow has also bucked off his last five bulls since placing sixth at PBR Little Rock. That was his second-best finish of the season, behind a second-place finish in Milwaukee. Hevalow just hasn’t strung together any momentum, paired with a lower average ride score of 85.61. He’ll get a chance to pick up the pace against 28-3 Black Harbor.

Round 1 Matchups to Watch

Cort McFadden vs. Ice Tray:The first matchup of the weekend is a thrilling one. Ice Tray has been ridden just once in its 10 career outs, whereas McFadden has ridden the last eight bulls he’s seen in the First Round. Granted, twice in that span, he covered a bull, accepted a reride, and was then bucked off on the reride. Ice Tray has averaged 42.95 points in its last seven outs. McFadden could be off to an excellent start to his weekend.

Dalton Kasel vs. Pegasus: Sixth-ranked Kasel has covered just three of his last 13 bulls, and he drew one of the toughest in Pegasus Friday night. It has remained unridden this season, with an average score of 44.67. Kasel lasted 4.43 seconds in their only matchup last September in a PBR Teams match. Despite the odds stacked against him, Kasel has the skill to ride all eight seconds and flip his season’s momentum.

Alex Cerqueira vs. Tchoupitoulas: Representing the Florida Freedom in their Semifinal game, eighth-ranked Cerqueira has an important ride against veteran bull Tchoupitoulas. A consistent Championship Round bull, Tchoupitoulas has been hovering around an average of 43 points this season, but has shown he can also go for both 45 and 41. Cerqueira will be ready for anything, as he’s ridden 55.76% of his bulls this season, good for fourth-best on tour.