The 2021 Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Unleash The Beast season begins Saturday in Ocala, Florida. This season, some changes are being made to the format and the point system.
PBR announced their changes, including one-day competitions, which will create daily winners.
The payout of the event is a $1 million bonus, so with a lot on the line and new areas of competition, this season is sure to be intense.
There will be double the amount of premier series competitions and a winner will be crowed at each Unleash The Beast tour stop.
"Every time a fan buys a PBR Unleash The Beast ticket, they want to see a championship round and a winner. The new format makes that a reality," PBR CEO and Commissioner Sean Gleason said. "Additionally, there is now the potential for more outs per weekend, giving riders more opportunities to garner points. By emphasizing winning, these changes will make our gold buckle race even more exciting and enhance the fan experience."
With the coronavirus pandemic still a major issue, this new format also lends itself to easier changes.
"Additionally, this change can help keep our industry moving forward by allowing us to remain flexible in places where health guidelines may change quickly and without notice," Gleason said.
The competitions will be two rounds, where the top 30 riders in the world will attempt to rude one bull each in Round 1. The top 12 will advance to the championship round.
Points will be awarded for their finish and whoever has the most amount of points by the end of the competition will be declared the winner.
A maximum of 140 points can be earned at each competition.
By the end of the weekend, the rider who accumulated the most points in all the competitions will be crowned the event winner, earning a Montana Silversmith's belt buckle and a $10,000 bonus
Here is a look at how the points break down now:
2021 UTB COMPETITION POINTS | 2021 PBR WORLD FINALS POINTS | |||
PLACE | ROUND POINTS | AGG. POINTS | ROUND POINTS | AGG. POINTS |
1 | 30 | 80 | 160 | 1,200 |
2 | 20 | 50 | 85 | 750 |
3 | 15 | 30 | 70 | 550 |
4 | 10 | 20 | 60 | 350 |
5 | 9 | 15 | 55 | 300 |
6 | 8 | 10 | 50 | 250 |
7 | 7 | 8 | 40 | 200 |
8 | 6 | 7 | 30 | 150 |
9 | 5 | 6 | 20 | 100 |
10 | 4 | 5 | 15 | 75 |
11 | 3 | 4 | 10 | 50 |
12 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 25 |
How to watch PBR Unleash the Beast:
- Date: Begins on January 16-17
World Finals take place November 3-7 - Location: Begins in Ocala, Florida
World Finals take place in Las Vegas, Nevada - TV Channel: RidePass, CBS Sports Network and CBS
- Stream: fuboTV (try free for 7 days)
