Game Notes – Edmonton

LET’S CROWN A CHAMPION – This weekend, for the fourth time in history, PBR Canada will hold its National Finals in Edmonton, Alberta, bucking into the state-of-the-art Rogers Place on Nov. 8-9 for the 2024 Command Tubular PBR Canada National Finals, presented by Edmonton’s Best Hotels. PBR has only four times prior held an event inside the home of the NHL’s Edmonton Oilers, launching the Global Cup in the venue in November 2017 and debuting the National Finals at the facility in November 2021, before returning in 2022 and 2023. The 2024 PBR Canada National Finals will mark the richest in history, set to award more than $250,000 in prize money to the 20 competing athletes, including a $100,000 bonus for the 2024 PBR Canada Champion and $50,000 guaranteed to the 2024 PBR Canada National Finals event winner.

RELATED: Click here for the complete 2024 PBR Canada National Finals Game Notes. 

THIS WEEKEND’S FORMAT – The 2024 Command Tubular PBR Canada National Finals, presented by Edmonton’s Best Hotels, will feature four rounds of bull riding. Each rider will get on one bull in Round 1 and Round 2 on Friday and Round 3 on Saturday. The 12 bull riders with the top combined ride scores will then advance to the championship round on Saturday where they will attempt one final bull in an effort to win the PBR Canada National Finals event and earn crucial points to be crowned the 2024 PBR Canada Champion. During the event Round 2, Round 3 and the championship round will feature a rider drafted draw, while Round 1 will be pre-determined.

LET’S TALK POINTS & PAYOUT – At the 2024 Command Tubular PBR Canada National Finals, presented by Edmonton’s Best Hotels, a maximum 360 points are available to one rider via the rounds and aggregate, with an additional 36 maximum ride-score points up for grabs. As a result, the battle for the 2024 PBR Canada Championship will come down to a shootout between No. 1 Cody Coverchuk and No. 2 Nick Tetz. The points table for the 2024 PBR Canada National Finals are as follows:

	2023 PBR Canada National Finals		Ride Score Points
	Rounds	Aggregate	Score	Points
1	40	200	70-79.75	7
2	20	126	80-89.75	8
3	18	90	90-99.75	9
4	16	54
5	14	46
6	12	36
7	10	24
8	8	16
9	6	10
10	4	6
11	2	4

 

During the 2024 PBR Canada National Finals, each round winner will earn $5,000, with a combined $11,250 paid out each round. $105,000 will be paid out to riders via their overall finish in the aggregate, with the winner of the event guaranteed to earn $50,000. Additionally, the 2024 PBR Canada Champion will earn the historic $100,000 bonus, with the total payout for the event being $250,000.

CODY COVERCHUK RIDES INTO EDMONTON RANKED NO. 1 – When the dust settled on the 2024 PBR Canada regular season, courtesy of a win at the Touring Pro Division event in Yorkton, Saskatchewan, Cody Coverchuk claimed the No. 1 rank in the Canadian national standings. When the final event prior to the 2024 PBR Canada National Finals got underway last weekend in Yorkton, Coverchuk trailed then No. 1 Nick Tetz by 20.25 points. Courtesy of a perfect 4-for-4 showing, Coverchuk won his sixth Touring Pro Division event of the season. His flawless effort in his home province, which included consecutive round wins in Round 1-2, garnered him a crucial 87.5 national point, catapulting him back to the No. 1 rank in the race for the 2024 PBR Canada Championship and accompanying $100,000 bonus, now 21.75 points ahead of No. 2 Tetz. Coverchuk got off to a fast start in Round 1, surging to the event lead when he rode Red Rust for 85.5 points. The reserved Saskatchewan man then solidified his spot atop the leaderboard, delivering the high-marked ride of the event when he covered Slash Tide for an unrivaled 88 points in Round 2. On Championship Saturday, Coverchuk remained red-hot, clinching the win courtesy of an 82-point ride on Ugly Truth in Round 3 and 84-point effort aboard Sons of Junkie in Round 4.

Two-time PBR Canada Champion Coverchuk (2018, 2021) is chasing history this season on the hunt for his record-tying third PBR Canada Championship. The Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan native began the season with a bang, winning the first two events, setting an early tone for his season. Holding the No. 1 rank in Canada for most of the season, Coverchuk was caught by Tetz in the standings after he was sidelined for two months from July-September, recovering from a torn groin. Coverchuk, however, put the bull riding world on notice in his return, going a perfect 3-for-3 to win the Cup Series event in Grande Prairie, Alberta, in late September.  cross both the developmental Touring Pro Division and elite Cup Series, Coverchuk has won eight events and 15 rounds, all the while covering a torrid 57.89% (33-for-57) of his draws. He will begin the final push to his third Championship when he climbs aboard Vold Rodeo’s Rust Buck in Round 1 of the 2024 PBR Canada National Finals.

NICK TETZ HUNGRY FOR SECOND COME-FROM-BEHIND WIN – For the third consecutive season, Nick Tetz will begin the PBR Canada National Finals ranked No. 2 in the race for the PBR Canada Championship. In 2022, Tetz began the year-end event trailing No. 1 Dakota Buttar by 21 points. However, Tetz delivered a come-from-behind surge to win his first PBR Canada Championship. Last season, Tetz began the PBR Canada National Finals 68.5 points behind No. 1 Cody Coverchuk, with both ultimately surpassed by Buttar en route to his second PBR Canada Championship. Fast forward to present, and for the second consecutive National Finals, Tetz will arrive at Rogers Place in Edmonton, Alberta, second to No. 1 Coverchuk, this time 21.75 points back.

While he begins the National Finals No. 2 in the standings, Tetz, has delivered a record-setting season, rewriting the PBR Canada history books as he attempts to become the fifth multi-time national title holder in Canada. Tetz obliterated the season event wins record, riding to 11 victories, leading the Canadian division with most Touring Pro Division victories (8) and Cup Series titles (3). In early October, Tetz also logged the first 90-point ride of the season, teaming with Langham Kid for a monster 90-point ride en route to the victory at the Cup Series’ PBR Medicine Hat Classic. Tetz concluded the regular season leading PBR Canada in round wins with 16, including a torrid 12 on the Touring Pro Division. The hockey player turned bull rider is also converting at a blazing pace, going 30-for-57, covering 52.63% of his bovine athlete opponents. When the 2024 PBR Canada National Finals begin Friday night in Edmonton, Tetz will face a familiar opponent in Emerald Inn.

AUSSIE, AUSSIE, AUSSIE – As part of the transcontinental partnership forged last season between PBR Australia and PBR Canada, reigning Australian Champion Boston Leather and young gun Ben Bode will compete at the 2024 Command Tubular PBR Canada National Finals, presented by Edmonton’s Best Hotels. Leather and Bode will make the journey across the Pacific Ocean to Canada for the first time following standout seasons at home; each rider earned his first qualification to the Australia Grand Finals.

Leather follows in the footsteps of his older brother, and 2023 PBR Australia Champion, Macaulie Leather who made the most of his invite to the 2023 PBR Canada National Finals, going a perfect 4-for-4 to tie for second as he made his debut on Canadian soil. Boston Leather made history just one week ago, becoming the first rider in history to win both the PBR Australia Championship and PBR Rookie of the Year honor in the same season. During his Championship campaign, the 19-year-old won four events, in addition to registering an accompanying 11 Top 10 finishes. He concluded the year with an 11^th-place effort at his first Grand Finals, as he edged Macaulie for the 2024 title by 123.85 points. In his first-ever out on Canadian Soil, Leather will attempt Skori Bucking Bulls’ Patiently Waiting in Round 1 inside Rogers Place.

Leather will be joined by fellow Queensland native Bode in the Great White North. In 2024, Bode’s accomplishments in Australia, included his career first event win in mid-March in Toowoomba. Winning two additional events, Bode went 2-for-4 to finish fourth at his first PBR Australia Grand Finals. He concluded the year No. 4 in Australia, finishing 210.5 points behind No. 1 Leather. As competition gets underway in Edmonton, Bode will attempt Kinky Buckers; Ranahan in the opening round of the 2024 PBR Canada National Finals.

PAST PBR CANADA CHAMPIONS – Set to ride at the 2024 Command Tubular PBR Canada National Finals, presented by Edmonton’s Beast Hotels, are four former Champions. The contingent is led by two-time Champion Cody Coverchuk who after winning his first title in 2018, captured the first Championship awarded inside Rogers Place in 2021. Should Coverchuk win the 2023 PBR Championship, he would tie Aaron Roy for most titles won by one rider in Canadian history with three. Coverchuk will be joined by 2022 PBR Canada Champion Nick Tetz as the lone two riders still in contention for the 2024 title. Ranked No. 1 and No. 2 in Canada, they are separated by a mere 21.75 points. Should Tetz make a come-from-behind surge much like he did to win the 2022 PBR Canada Championship, he would become the fifth rider in history to win the Championship multiple times. They will be joined by three-time PBR Canada Champion Roy and two-time and reigning PBR Canada Champion Dakota Buttar in the draw. Roy, much like Coverchuk, will attempt to win the PBR Canada National Finals for the second time in his career. Only two riders, Zane Lambert and Daylon Swearingen, have won the year-end event in Canada multiple times. Roy has drawn Naughty Kisher in Round 1 inside Rogers Place. For Buttar, who will attempt Relatively Famous, he will look to ride to his first Canadian National Finals event win.

The complete list of past PBR Canada Champions is:

2023 Dakota Buttar
2022 Nick Tetz
2021 Cody Coverchuk
2020 Dakota Buttar
2019 Daylon Swearingen
2018 Cody Coverchuk
2017 Zane Lambert
2016 Ty Pozzobon
2015 Tanner Byrne
2014 Stetson Lawrence
2013 Zane Lambert
2012 Aaron Roy
2011 Tyler Thomson
2010 Aaron Roy
2009 Beau Hill
2008 Aaron Roy
2007 Tyler Pankewicz
2006 Scott Schiffner

PAST NATIONAL FINALS EVENT WINNERS – Tyler Craig, one of four riders to be flawless, won the 2023 PBR Canada National Finals, finishing 3.5 points ahead of runners-up Dakota Buttar and 2023 PBR Australia Champion Macaulie Leather in the aggregate. Craig was sensational in the first two rounds of competition, sweeping both Round 1 and Round 2 as he rode Black Mamba for 87 points and Times A Tickin for 86.75 points. While Craig’s 84.25-point ride on Moonwalk tied for the 10^th best of the round, the young Albertan remained atop the event leaderboard. Holding the first selection in the championship round bull draft, Craig architected a showdown with Built Tough. Poised, Craig nodded with confidence, remaining centered as he reached the whistle for 88.5 points. Courtesy of the golden finish, Craig earned a check for $40,937.50 and netted 335 national points. He concluded the 2023 season No. 4 in Canada, 130.5 points behind No. 1 Buttar.

The complete list of past Canadian Finals event winners is:

2023 Tyler Craig
2022 Jared Parsonage
2021 Daylon Swearingen
2020 *Multiple Riders*
2019 Daylon Swearingen
2018 Cody Coverchuk
2017 Zane Lambert / Edgar Durazo
2016 Zane Lambert
2015 Brady Oleson
2014 Aaron Roy
2013 Scott Schiffner
2012 Ty Pozzobon
2011 Dusty Ephrom/Harve Stewart
2010 Mike Lee
2009 Guilherme Marchi
2008 Jock Connolly
2007 Vince Northrup
2006 Brian Canter

FAMILIAR WATERS – Round 1 of the 2024 Command Tubular PBR Canada National Finals, presented by Edmonton’s Best Hotels, will feature eight rematches. Those riders facing familiar opponents are:

• Ashton Sahli will climb aboard Times A Tickin for the fourth time in his career as he looks to even the record to 2-2. The duo first danced in July 2023 at the Touring Pro Division event in North Battleford, Saskatchewan as the powerful animal athlete bested Sahli in 2.53 seconds. Sahli, however, rebounded in their next meeting, riding Times A Tickin for 88.5 points at the August Touring Pro Division stop in Stavely, Albera. The bull reclaimed the series lead in their most recent meeting, bucking off Sahli in 2.77 seconds during the developmental event in August 2024 in Coronation, Alberta.
• Callum Miller will look to log his first ride on Diggin Up Bones. In their first showdown, Diggin Up Bones emerged the more dominant athletes, tossing Miller in 5.28 seconds.
• Chanse Switzer will attempt to remain perfect on Time Marches On. After riding the bull for 88 points at the October 2023 Cup Series event in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, he delivered an 86.5-point ride atop Time Marches On at this February’s elite tour event in Red Deer, Alberta.
• Gilmar Santana will square off against Hanna Motors Broken Halo for the fourth time. The Skori Bucking Bulls’ bovine got the better of the Brazilian in their first two outs, besting him in 6.81 seconds at this June’s Touring Pro Division event in Humboldt, Saskatchewan, only to toss him in 7.12 seconds during the September Cup Series event in Grande Prairie, Alberta. However, Santana found his groove when the duo met in late October at the Cup Series event in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, making the 8-seconds whistle for 83.5 points.
• Jake Gardner will been keen to replicate his past success on Wolf Bait. He rode the bull for 84.5 points at the October 2021 Cup Series tour stop in Grande Prairie, Alberta.
• Nick Tetz is locked in a rubber match with Emerald Inn. While Tetz rode the bull for 88 points in their first meeting this July at the Touring Pro Division event in Calgary, Alberta, Emerald Inn won their most recent matchup this October, tossing the Calgarian in a hard-fought 7.41 seconds at the Cup Series event in Grande Prairie, Alberta.
• Stefan Tonita will attempt to reverse his fortunes on Jail Break who has bucked him off in both their meetings on record. After being tossed by Jail Break in 4.14 seconds during the 2023 PBR Canada National Finals in Edmonton, Alberta, Tonita was again bucked off this June at the Cup Series event in Kingston, Ontario, upended in 2.82 seconds.
• Weston Davidson has drawn Lil’ Hooch for the second time in his career. Their first meeting resulted in a buckoff, with Davidson bested in 3.03 seconds at this June’s Cup Series event in Kingston, Ontario.

BULL PEN – In addition to crowning a 2024 PBR Canada Champion, this weekend’s year-end event in Edmonton will also crown the season’s top bovine athlete. The 2024 Canadian Global PBR Canada Bull of the Year will be the animal athlete with the top average score when combining his Top 5 outs from the regular season across all levels of competition and his one out at the 2024 Command Tubular PBR Canada National Finals, presented by Edmonton’s Best Hotels, in Edmonton, Alberta, at Rogers Place Nov. 8-9.

The rank contingent of 12 bulls is led by Kinky Buckers’ Grand Funk, currently 0.4 points ahead of No. 2 contender Ringling Road. After making his PBR debut in 2022, Grand Funk has had a career year in 2024, concluding the season with a 44.3-point average score. Bucking 11 times on home soil throughout the season, Grand Funk has claimed a PBR Canada-best five Bull of the Event titles; two were earned via a career-best 44.5-point bull score. Grand Funk first topped the scoreboard in early May, earning his first Bull of the Event title at the Touring Pro Division event in Brooks, Alberta marked a career-best 44.5 points for 4.65 seconds of work against Chanse Switzer. The trip was one of three career-high, 44.5-point outings for Grand Funk. He also delivered the score in Cluny, Alberta, besting Brahmer Gaehring in 3.69 seconds, and in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, tossing Dakota Buttar in 6.02 seconds. In addition to earning the Bull of the Event title in Brooks, Grand Funk’s outs in Camrose, Alberta, Kelowna, British Columbia, Stavely, Alberta and Saskatoon were also the best of any bucking bull at the tour stop.  Grand Funk was ridden just twice during the 2024 campaign – on his first two outs of the season. The powerful animal athlete was covered by Jared Parsonage for 87 points in Red Deer, Alberta, in early February, and Nick Tetz for 89 points a month later in Lethbridge, Alberta. During those outs, Grand Funk was marked 42 points and 43.5 points, respectively. Across his entire career, those are the lone two qualified rides atop Grand Funk in his 22 outs on record.

While Grand Funk leads the standings, he is closely followed by No. 2 Ringling Road. Hailing from Wilson Rodeo, Ringling Road also bucked to a PBR Canada best five Bull of the Event honors, holding a 43.9-point average score ahead of the 2024 PBR Canada National Finals. He was the top marked animal athlete in Brandon, Manitoba, Kingston, Ontario, Ottawa, Ontario, Ponoka, Alberta and Kelowna, British Columbia. Ringling Road was one of two animal athletes to register a season-best 45-point bull score, delivering the top marks in Kingston, Ontario, when he sent Stefan Tonita airborne in 2.98 seconds. In 2024, Ringling Road was unridden in 13 outs. Since making his PBR Canada debut in 2022, he has been solved just once, by Tetz for 87.25 points during the 2023 PBR Canada National Finals, in 23 career outs.

Beginning the 2024 PBR Canada National Finals as the No. 4 ranked eligible bovine athlete, reigning Canadian Global Bull of the Year Built Tough is attempting to become the first back-to-back winner of the coveted honor in PBR Canada history.

Ahead of this weekend’s event at Rogers Place, Built Tough trails top-ranked Grand Funk by 0.7 points holding a 43.6-point average.

The complete list of contenders for this year’s Canadian Global PBR Canada Bull of the Year honor are:

No. 1 Grand Funk (Kinky Buckers) – 44.3 points
No. 2 Ringling Road (Wilson Rodeo) – 43.9 points (-0.4 points)
No. 3 Moonwalk (Thompson Rodeo Livestock) – 43.7 points (-0.6 points)
No. 4 Built Tough (Thompson Rodeo Livestock) – 43.6 points (-0.7 points)
No. 5 Whiskey Moon (Skori Bucking Bulls) – 43.5 points (-0.8 points)
No. 6T Langham Kid (Two Bit Bucking Bulls) – 43.4 points (-0.9 points)
No. 6T Dialed In (Wilson Rodeo) – 43.4 points (-0.9 points)
No. 8T Emerald Inn (X6 Ranch Bucking Cattle/B2 Braithwaite Ranches) – 43.2 points (-1.1 points)
No. 8T Tailor Made (X6 Ranch Bucking Cattle) – 43.2 points (-1.1 points)
No. 10T Purple People Eater (Flying High Rodeo Co.) – 43 points (-1.3 points)
No. 10T Bench Warrant (X6 Ranch Bucking Cattle/Hartman) – 43 points (-1.3 points)
No. 10T Superstition (X6 Ranch Bucking Cattle/Wilson Rodeo) – 43 points (-1.3 points)

PROVIDING PROTECTION – The bullfighters selected to work the 2024 Command Tubular PBR Canada National Finals, presented by Edmonton’s Best Hotels, in Edmonton, Alberta, are Tanner Byrne, Brett Monea and Ty Prescott.

2024 5/5 BUCKING BATTLE SCHEDULE AND RESULTS - Each 5/5 Bucking Battle features the Top 5 riders from the event following Round 1, competing against the five highest-ranked bulls at the event for extra bonus points and an additional purse. Here are the winners of the special rounds thus far in 2024:

March 1 in Lethbridge, Alberta - Cody Coverchuk, 86 points on Wild Time
June 4 in Kingston, Ontario - Nick Tetz, 85.5 points on Allemand Left | Coy Robbins, 85.5 points on Wicked Water
September 27 in Grande Prairie, Alberta - Tyler Craig, 86 points on Hou’s Sippin
October 25 in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan - John Crimber, 88.5 points on Ceili’s Pyper

 

EDMONTON COMPETITORS BY COUNTRY

Australia (4) – Ben Bode, Cody Fraser, Boston Leather, Callum Miller

Brazil (1) – Gilmar Santana

Canada (14) – Dakota Buttar, Cody Coverchuk, Tyler Craig, Weston Davidson, Tanner Eno, Jake Gardner, Garrett Green, Jordan Hansen, Coy Robbins, Aaron Roy, Ashton Sahli, Chanse Switzer, Nick Tetz, Stefan Tonita

United States (1) – Cody Teel

BREAKDOWN BY PROVINCE –

Alberta – Tyler Craig, Tanner Eno, Garrett Green, Jordan Hansen, Coy Robbins, Ashton Sahli, Nick Tetz; British Columbia – Jake Gardner; Saskatchewan – Dakota Buttar, Cody Coverchuk, Weston Davidson, Aaron Roy, Chanse Switzer, Stefan Tonita.