After this weekend the PBR UTB will be across its halfway point in the regular season. Nine events down, nine events remaining. The World Finals in Fort Worth are officially closer than they appear.

What To Know

Who’s Back, Who’s Out

Sage Kimzey and Dalton Kasel return from injury after sitting out Salt Lake City. The duo each fell a spot in the UTB Standings in their absence. Kasel is now No. 2, while Kimzey is No. 5. Still within 22 UTB points, Kasel will have a chance to battle Crimber and reclaim his World No. 1 spot over the weekend.

Also returning from injury are Brazilians Leandro Zampollo and Jose Vitor Leme.

Four riders in the Top 30, Clay Guiton, Kade Madsen, Maverick Smith, and Lucas Divino, will all miss this week’s event in the Steel City.

Divino will likely be out the longest, missing eight weeks with two collarbone fractures suffered in his Round 1 ride in Salt Lake City.

The third-ranked Guiton will miss this week and the next few as he recovers from his scary wreck last week.

All-Star Bulls

As the NBA All-Star Weekend is celebrated, the Professional Bull Riders will be doing something similar, sending out the most loaded stock of bovines yet this season. Pittsburgh’s First Round will feature a total of 16 bulls that have appeared in at least one UTB Short Round this season. Bouts such as Marco Rizzo vs. Fire Zone, Jose Vitor Leme vs. Constant Payne, and Keyshawn Whitehorse vs. Sober Child are all must-watch matchups.

Team Challenge

The Florida Freedom (0-1) are taking on the Nashville Stampede (1-0) on Friday.

World No. 10–ranked Alex Cerqueira and No. 1 John Crimber will lead the Freedom as they search for their first Team Challenge win.

World No. 8 Kaiden Loud will lead the Stampede in their bid to break away from the middle of the standings and solidify themselves as a true contender.

The Austin Gamblers (2-0) then face off against their opposite in the standings, the Arizona Ridge Riders (0-1-1).

The Ridge Riders are coming off a tie with the last-place Oklahoma Wildcatters in a face-off that saw zero qualified rides.

They face an uphill battle against a Gamblers squad that has converted a Team Challenge–best 75% of its attempts. The Gamblers also feature three riders in the Top 12: Callum Miller, Sage Kimzey, and Dalton Kasel.

What Happened Last Year

PBR Pittsburgh was won last year by Brady Fielder, who rode all three bulls for a 262.25 aggregate score. He was an event-best 90.75 points on UTZ BesTex Smokestack in the Short Round, edging out Felipe Furlan’s 90.25 points on Lights Out. Furlan finished second overall.

Fielder has been shaky as of late, but his Salt Lake performance earned him his first Short Round appearance since he won PBR Boston earlier this season.

Keyshawn Whitehorse was 89.75 points atop Eyes On Me to win the First Round. Claudio Montanha Jr. was 88.5 points on Big X to win the Second Round.

Clay Guiton finished third in the event with a pair of 87-point rides.

Last year’s Short Round featured only two current Top 15 riders in Fielder and Guiton.

Athletes to Watch

John Crimber nearly pulled off back-to-back PBR event wins with his second-place performance last week in Salt Lake City. In the process, he earned enough event points to overtake the absent Dalton Kasel in the World Rankings, becoming the new World No. 1. Crimber has been on fire; he’s ridden seven of his last eight bulls.

He’ll face UTB newcomer Mystified in his Team Challenge ride.

Kasel will take on World No. 6 bull Flapjack in his Team Challenge ride on Friday. Flapjack’s career 83.6% buckoff percentage clashes with Kasel’s tour-leading 68.4% ride percentage in the pair’s first-ever meeting.

Kasel has the opportunity to regain the ground he lost on Crimber while also vaulting his Austin Gamblers squad to the top of the Team Challenge Standings.

Alex Cerqueira just cracked the Top 10 in the World Rankings with his performance last week. He’s currently covered eight of his last 11 bulls.

He faces 4-0 Back in Black on Friday night.

Paulo Eduardo Rossetto is coming off his first UTB win of the season in Salt Lake City and the second of his career. Rossetto is the only rider on tour who can ride a bull with each hand.

He’ll take on 31-2 Chico, who was most recently conquered by Clay Guiton in Tampa for 89.1 points.

Thiago Salgado sits 19th in the World Rankings with eight rides in 20 attempts, yet he’s appeared in each of the last three Short Rounds, the only rider with such a streak. He has appeared in four of the eight total Short Rounds this season but hasn’t earned a Top 5 finish yet.

He’ll take on Let Him Fly, who’s on a buckoff streak of four.