John Crimber Bounces Back, Rides Four in a Row to Claim PBR World Title

John Crimber is known for his flash and emotion, but it was mental fortitude over nine rounds at the PBR World Finals that helped him win his first World Title at 20-years-old.

He finished with 1,242.5 UTB Points, besting Brady Fielder by 178.83 points.

“This is what I’ve dreamed of ever since I was a little kid playing in the living room pretending I was a bull rider, this is what we do it for, to be a World Champion,” Crimber said. “This World Title is not just for myself, it’s for my dad, he’s the one brought me here to who I am and his career was cut short, so this one is for him.”

Crimber never relinquished the No. 1 spot over the final 10 weeks of the season, but winning the World Championship was anything but a cake walk. Entering Round 8, World No. 2 Brady Fielder was just 8.83 UTB Points behind Crimber with the Aggregate bonus points factored in.

We got to that point because Crimber struggled mightily, more than he had all season to begin his second World Finals. He bucked off of his first five bulls and with each passing night, he watched Fielder and a surging Hudson Bolton get closer and closer as his frustration came close to boiling over multiple times.

But the same fire that agitates is often what drives great athletes, and John Crimber is one of those athletes.

In Round 6, he broke his drought with his 89.40-point ride on July and then followed it up with an 84.95-point ride on Icky Thump that brought the Dickies Arena crowd to its feet on Saturday night.

Entering Championship Sunday, the situation was simple for Crimber, if he rode two bulls, he was going to tough to beat. He made himself even tougher to beat by riding What’s Poppin’ for 91.35 to win Round 8.

He threw his helmet from the shark cage almost to the back of chutes and dropped to his knees. Once behind those chutes, he shared an emotional embrace with his father Paulo, both were aware of the magnitude of that ride. It shot him from 28th to 9th in the World Finals Aggregate and earned him 59 crucial UTB Points.

For good measure, Crimber energized Dickies Arena once more by riding Tigger for 92.90 points to win the Championship Round. He rode four in a row down the stretch to leave no doubt.

“I didn’t ride the bulls I was supposed to and I had a lot of critics, people saying things that I am not,” he said. “I just had to stay true to myself and keep trusting God’s plans, because his plans are perfect.”

Hudson Bolton Rides Historic Heater to PBR World Finals Event Title

Hudson Bolton was No. 39 in the PBR Unleash the Beast Standings on March 21, by the time the World Finals began he was 19th. The 2025 Rookie of the Year entered Fort Worth hot, he left absolutely scorching. With 618.85 Aggregate Points, he was the PBR World Finals Event Champion

He rode his first bull for 89.65 and then just kept riding and riding and riding, eventually reaching a streak of seven in a row at the World Finals and 14 overall, the third-longest in PBR history.

With each qualified ride, Bolton’s confidence and swagger grew as he embraced the attention that came with dominating bull riding’s biggest stage.

By the end of Round 7, Bolton led the entire field except Luciano de Castro by three bulls. That set up a simple scenario for him entering Championship Sunday, a qualified ride or a De Castro buckoff sealed him the 500 Aggregate Points and $500,000 payday.

In about two minutes time on Sunday afternoon, things got a little too close for comfort for Bolton. He bucked off Ridin Salty at 4.41 seconds and right behind him, De Castro covered Stryker for 89.05 points to cut the his Aggregate lead down to 87 points.

De Castro bucked off of his Championship Round bull to officially clinch it for Bolton, who also bucked off as the last cowboy out of the entire event.

In the end, he had to settle for 7-of-9. For his World Finals career, he is a staggering 13-for-17.

Marco Rizzo Outduels Maverick Smith for Rookie of the Year

In a very close are down the stretch, Marco Rizzo hung on and outlasted Maverick Smith to win the PBR Rookie of the Year Title. Rizzo finished with 453 UTB Points to Smith’s 423.

It wasn’t a perfect season for Rizzo, but he started off hot, winning his first career event in Chicago. He followed that with a 2nd-place finish in Boston the following weekend.

He finished in the Top 10 in three other events this season and entered his first career PBR World Finals ranked 9th in the World Standings.

Rizzo had an outside shot at the World Title, but he needed to defend his lead in the Rookie Of The Year race over Maverick Smith.

Smith trailed Rizzo by just 43 points entering the World Finals.

Rizzo bucked off his first three bulls, allowing Smith to strike first and close the lead to 29 Points in Round 3.

Rizzo clapped back in Round 4, covering El Patron for 89.75, his first career score in the World Finals. Smith had no answer, and Rizzo’s lead jumped up to 52 Points.

The pendulum swung back in Smith’s favor as he rode his next two bulls, while Rizzo could only cover one of his next two. Going into Round 7, Rizzo led by just 31 points and neither cowboy registered a qualified ride on Championship Sunday.

Smith had a final opportunity, he did make the Short Round, but was bucked off Fire Fight in 7.73 seconds, leaving Rizzo the undisputed Rookie Of The Year.

“Shoutout Maverick, Maverick pushed me to be my absolute best this season,” the newly crowned Rizzo said. “It’s a great feeling, it’s a milestone I hit in my life and a goal I’ve always wanted to achieve. I feel super blessed.”

Ransom Edges Pegasus For Yeti World Champion Bull

D & H Cattle Co / Flinn’s Ransom ended his immaculate season as the World Champion Bucking Bull and did in dramatic fashion. It came down to the very last out between Ransom and Pegasus in the Championship Round of the 2026 World Finals.

Pegasus led the Bull Standings heading into the Short Round, and bucked off Callum Miller with a stellar 46.1 Bull Score. However, it was the lowest of Pegasus’ three outs at the World Finals.

Ransom needed a 47.3 Bull Score to win the World Title outright and against Brady Fielder, did just that. Ransom scored a 47.35, the best out of the World Finals. But it nearly didn’t count as Fielder was awarded a re-ride. However, Ransom’s score was kept regardless, and vaulted him past Pegasus by just .01 points in the Bull Standings.

Ransom averaged a 45.96 Bull Score in his UTB outs this season and was covered just twice.

Ransom also owns the best out of the 2026 UTB season, scoring 47.85 against Cassio Dias at PBR Billings. He is also responsible for the best score of the season; in Round 5 of the World Finals, Edaurdo Aparecido covered Ransom 96.10 points. In the same round, Alex Cerqueira was 94.35 on Pegasus.

Ransom saved his best for last, going for 46+ in each of his last five outs this season, with three of those being for 47+.