Top-seeded Austin Gamblers come up short again in quest for PBR title, fall in finals
For the Austin Gamblers, the business remains unfinished.
The top-seeded Gamblers were upset by the Fort Worth-based Texas Rattlers in the championship game of last weekend's PBR Teams Championship at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. The Gamblers fell 355.25 to 265.25, a bitter ending for the heavily favored team, which was unable to bring home the championship buckle for a second straight season after earning the league's best regular-season record and top rider honors.
“Every Gambler team member felt our loss,” Gamblers head coach Michael Gaffney said. “We went to Vegas with one goal, to bring home that gold buckle. Even though we didn’t win the final game, our guys are still champions in their own right. But that loss gives us even more motivation for next season.”
As was the case in 2022, the Gamblers fell victim to a Cinderella team on a hot streak. In 2022 the Nashville Stampede wore the glass slipper. This year it was the Rattlers who came into Vegas flying under the radar. Having finished third in the regular season, the Rattlers earned the gold buckle without the benefit of a first-round bye.
After an opening 174-84.5 victory over the Missouri Thunder, the Rattlers became the first team to punch their ticket to the semifinals, registering their fifth consecutive win when they beat the Oklahoma Freedom 170.75-87 Saturday night. Meanwhile the Gamblers earned their spot in the semifinal by surviving their Saturday night matchup against the young Thunder. Gamblers rider Jose Vitor Leme, who was this year's league MVP, clinched the win atop WSM's Sun Country, earning 89 points to help Austin edge its way to a 177.75-174.75 victory.
The Thunder and Gamblers met again Sunday, and this time the Gamblers won in more comfortable fashion, 256-172, setting up the finals match with the Rattlers. The Rattlers set an early tone as Joao Ricardo Vieira staked them to an 88.75-point lead by qualifying aboard Outlaw. With that score, Vieira also clinched the PBR Teams Championship MVP title, finishing 3.25 points ahead of Missouri's Felipe Furlan.
The Gamblers couldn't match the score, as Dalton Kasel was bucked off by Roc Wit It in 4.19 seconds. The Rattlers extended their lead to two scores and 176 points when Brady Felder dominated Ah Hell for 87.25 points. The Gamblers, however, cut the lead to 86.5 points on a successful ride from Rafael dos Santos atop Mike's Motive.
The Rattlers faltered in the third when Brady Oleson came down hard from atop Hunter in 5.48 seconds. With the door open for Austin, Lucas Divino turned in a solid 86-point ride on Skippy, moving the team to 0.5 points behind entering the fourth. Texas' Cody Jesus rode Tijuana Two-Step for 88.75 points, building the Rattlers' lead to 89.25 points, and needing a score, the Gamblers' Ramon de Lima came up short aboard Short Circuit, hitting the ground in 3.53 seconds.
That buck-off gave the Rattlers the chance to clinch the championship early in the fifth. Rattlers closer Daniel Keeping, atop Red River, executed a game-best 90.5-point ride, locking up the championship for Texas.
This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: The Austin Gamblers PBR team fell to the Texas Rattlers in the finals
