UTB 101: Rattler Nation’s Guide to Understanding Unleash the Beast
UTB 101: Rattler Nation’s Guide to Understanding Unleash the Beast
It’s been a little over a month since the final cloud of arena dust settled inside T-Mobile Arena following the conclusion of the 2024 Camping World Teams Series Championship. It was a thrilling four months of PBR Teams action for the Ariat Texas Rattlers, who ended the season ranked fourth in the league overall with a record of 16-12. Come next July, Texas will be ready to strike again as a unit — but for now, it’s all eyes on the individual circuits.
It’s time to Unleash the Beast.
Every weekend for the next six months, the top 40 bull riders from across the globe will go head-to-head in the PBR’s elite Unleash the Beast (UTB) tour, sponsored by Monster Energy, for a chance at being crowned the 2025 PBR World Champion in May. To help with the transition from keeping up with teams to supporting the Rattlers who are now riding solo, we’re breaking down the basics of Unleash the Beast with all the need-to-know details about the tour bringing you the best of the best from some of the heaviest hitters in the league.
The Basics
Both the Camping World Teams Series and Unleash the Beast are action-packed, adrenaline-pumping displays of the best talent the world of Professional Bull Riding has to offer. Both tours feature weekly competitions, usually on the weekends, and both culminate in the chance to secure a world title at the end of each season. The primary difference between Teams and UTB comes down to the numbers: With Teams, competition is a 5-on-5 format where individual rides are counted towards an aggregate team score, while Unleash the Beast is every man for himself as riders vie to clinch and keep their positions in the elite top 40. The basic rules of bull riding apply to both tours: Riders must stay on for eight seconds without touching the bull, the ground, or any part of his body with his free hand, and rides are scored on a 100-point-scale, with 50 points possible for both the bull and the rider.
The Format
The Camping World Teams Series is a 13-event-season that runs from July-October, culminating in the World Championships in Las Vegas. Competition spans across the country throughout the regular season, with each of the 10 teams hosting homestands in their respective cities, as well as two neutral site competitions in Georgia and California. Standings are updated throughout the season, and while every team gets a chance to ride in the PBR Teams Championship, the two highest-ranked teams have an advantage through first round byes come Vegas.
Unleash the Beast is a 24-event-season that spans from November-May across 20 different states. It runs in tandem with the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour (PWVT) and the Touring Pro Division (TPD) individual circuits, in which riders compete for their chance at qualifying for the elite UTB series. Throughout the seven-month-long season, the top 40 bull riders across the individual circuits compete in Unleash the Beast events for their chance to qualify for the world finals – the last stop on the journey to being crowned the PBR World Champion. The Unleash the Beast championship spans several days, and it all goes down right here in Texas, beginning with the Elimination and Ride for Redemption rounds at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth and ending with the World Championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington.
The Athletes
Bull riding as a whole can be fairly unpredictable, but with Teams, fans can more or less expect to see the same familiar faces each weekend throughout the season. The guys typically travel, train, and compete together as one cohesive unit under the guidance of a coach. Rosters can change due to trades, signing of free agents, or injuries, but for the most part, what you see with Teams is what you get. Coaches are also at liberty to switch up the starting lineup with each game as they see fit.
With Unleash the Beast, there are even fewer guarantees. After the first four UTB events of the 2025 season, the field will open up to top contenders across the other individual circuits for a chance to replace the bottom-ranked UTB riders. Athletes competing outside of Unleash the Beast are awarded “Velocity Global Points” for wins within the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour and the Touring Pro Division, which are tallied to determine eligibility for entering into the Unleash the Beast tour. Cuts continue to happen throughout the season every two weeks, to ensure that the top bull riding talent across the globe is consistently on display.
The Lowdown
All in all, both the Camping World Teams Series and the elite Unleash the Beast tour are incredible examples of the sheer talent and athleticism on display throughout the “Toughest Sport on Dirt.” While you wait for the excitement of the Teams series to start back up again next summer, consider checking out Unleash the Beast. You’re bound to see some familiar faces from the Teams series (João Ricardo Vieira, Marcelo Procopio Pereira, and Claudio Montanha Jr. are all competing right now, to name a few) and it’s easier now than ever to keep up to date with the latest news in the league with pbr.com and the PBR app.
Speaking of the latest news, the PBR recently announced an all-new extension of the Teams series coming to the Unleash the Beast circuit this year. The Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by Camping World, will add a little bit of spice to select weekends, where rivals from the Teams Series are invited to play a 6-on-6 game regardless of Unleash the Beast qualification. The Ariat Texas Rattlers will be taking on their in-state rivals, the Austin Gamblers, three times throughout the season for a shot at some serious bragging rights.
Lucky for Rattler Nation, you won’t have to wait all the way until next season to get your PBR fix in-person, right at home in Fort Worth. The Unleash the Beast tour comes to the historic Cowtown Coliseum at the end of the season, May 8-11 and 14-15, before moving to Arlington May 17-18 for the PBR World Finals: Unleash the Beast Championships. Don’t miss out!