Game Notes – Kingston

CROWNING A CHAMPION IN KINGSTON – This weekend, for the first time in tour history, PBR Canada’s elite Cup Series will buck into Kingston, Ontario. The PBR Kingston Classic, the fifth elite tour event of the season, will be held at Slush Puppie Place on Tuesday, June 4 and Wednesday, June 5. Action will begin nightly at 7:00 p.m. EDT. While the tour stop was initially announced as a one-day show in January, due to an unprecedented demand for tickets a second day was added to the event in late February.

RELATED: Click here for the complete Kingston Game Notes.

MAJOR, MAJOR, MAJOR – During the 2024 season, PBR Canada will host three Majors, offering riders both an increased event purse and Canadian national points. The season-launch event in Red Deer, Alberta marked the first Major, while this weekend’s event in Kingston will be the second, and the final regular-season Cup Series event of the year in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, will welcome the third.  Below is a breakdown of the Canadian national points available this weekend in Kingston:

	2024 PBR Canada Major		Ride Score Points
	Rounds	Aggregate	Score	Points
1	30	150	70-79.75	7
2	20	94	80-89.75	8
3	14	67	90-99.75	9
4	12	40
5	11	34
6	9	26
7	8	17
8	6	8
9	5	7
10	3	6

THIS WEEK’S FORMAT – The PBR Kingston Classic will feature three rounds of bull riding and is a Tier 1 Challenger Series Global event. Each rider will get on one bull in Round 1 on Friday and Round 2 on Saturday. The 10 bull riders with the best combined scores will then advance to the championship round on Saturday, where they will attempt one final bull in an effort to be crowned the event champion. This weekend, one rider will have the chance to earn 240 national points in the main event, in addition to ride score points. Following Tuesday night’s Round 1, the Top 5 riders from the opening round will attempt five of the event’s top bulls. Featuring both a separate purse, and national points, $2,500 will be available, with the winner set to collect 15 national points.

5/5 BUCKING BATTLE – In 2024, at all two-day PBR Canada Cup Series events, the opening night of competition will feature a 5/5 Bucking Battle. Pitting the Top 5 riders from the event’s opening round against the five best bucking bulls at the event, the special round will feature both a separate purse, and national points. The national points will be awarded as: 1^st – 15; 2^nd – 8; and 3^rd – 7. The money will payout as: 1^st - $1,250; 2^nd - $750; and 3^rd – $500. The bulls slated to buck in the 5/5 Bucking Battle in Kingston on June 4 are:

Look At This Dude (Two Bit Bucking Bulls)
Wicked Water (Two Bit Bucking Bulls)
Lil Man (CJ Bucking Bulls)
Cliff (Vold Rodeo)
Allemand Left (Wilson Rodeo)

COVERCHUK CONTINUES TO DOMINATE – Thus far, the 2024 PBR Canada season has belonged to one rider – Cody Coverchuk. The two-time Canadian Champion leads PBR Canada in riding percentage (75%) having gone a torrid 15-for-20, in addition to Touring Pro Division event wins, with three, and round wins on both the Cup Series and Touring Pro Division, with five and four respectively. And last weekend, he inched closer to earning his record-tying third PBR Canada Championship, winning the Cup Series event in London, Ontario. Coverchuk got off to a fast start in Round 1, surging to an early event lead when he dominated Almost Gone for 86.5 points. With the first pick in the championship round bull draft, Coverchuk architected a rematch, quickly selecting Langham Kid. The two had danced seven times prior, with Coverchuk making the requisite 8 in four of those showdowns. As the last man to leave the chutes inside Budweiser Gardens, Coverchuk nodded with confidence. Remaining in perfect time with the quick moving bovine, Coverchuk made the whistle, awarded an event-winning 87.5 points. Courtesy of the victory on Canada’s premier bull riding tour, Coverchuk garnered a crucial 126 national points. He furthered his stronghold on the No. 1 rank in the nation, increasing his lead from 219.5 points to 345.5 points over No. 2 Jake Gardner, who was shutout at the PBR London Classic. Coverchuk will look to continue his supremacy this week in Kingston, first taking on Red Carpet in Round 1 inside Slush Puppie Place.

MILLER MAKES A STATEMENT – Fresh off his career-first berth to the PBR World Finals, Aussie sensation Callum Miller returned to Canadian soil in commanding form last weekend in London, Ontario, finishing second. Miller first put points on the board in Round 1 when he covered “@Originbrewingco” for 79.5 points. Miller then lit up the scoreboard in the final round, besting MoBamba for a tour stop-best 88 points. While Miller began the event unranked, he surged to No. 13 in Canada, now within 559.5 points of No. 1 Coverchuk. On the hunt to become the first-ever Australian PBR Canada Champion, Miller will look to continue his upward climb in Kingston, drawing Power Play in Round 1.

BUTTAR GAINS GROUND IN LONDON – This November, Dakota Buttar will look to accomplish a feat never before achieved in Canada, win the national title in back-to-back seasons. And last weekend in London, Ontario, he took a step forward in actualizing that goal. Roughly a week after winning his first event of the season at the Touring Pro Division event in Dauphin, Manitoba, Buttar delivered a fourth-place effort at last weekend’s Cup Series event in London, Ontario. The Top 5 effort was earned courtesy of his 85-point ride atop Cliff. Buttar, who is also looking to tie Aaron Roy for most Canadian Championships ever won by one rider with three, earned 38 national points, rising from No. 10 to No. 9 in the standings, He now trails No. 1 Coverchuk by 506 points. This weekend in Kingston, he’s draw Fudge in the opening round of the competition.

FAMILIAR WATERS – Round 1 of the PBR Kingston Classic will feature two rematches. Those riders facing familiar opponents are:

• Brock Radford will look to remain perfect against Clear The Village. In September 2022, Radford rode the bovine athlete for 86 points at the Touring Pro Division event in Armstrong, British Columbia.
• Cody Fraser will attempt to right the ship against Back Flip. In May 2023, the bull tossed Fraser in 3.96 seconds during the elite Cup Series event in London, Ontario.

NEXT UP – The 2024 PBR Canada Sup Series will next travel to Ottawa, Ontario, and Canadian Tire Centre for the PBR Ottawa Classic on June 8. Action will get underway at 7 p.m. EDT.   

PROVIDING PROTECTION – The bullfighters on hand for this weekend’s event in London, Ontario, are Tanner Byrne, Logan Kadlec 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

 

KINGSTON COMPETITORS BY COUNTRY

Australia (2) – Cody Fraser, Callum Miller

Brazil (2) – Gilmar Santana, Alison Trindade

Canada (20) – Dakota Buttar, Cody Coverchuk, Tyler Craig, Weston Davidson, Jake Gardner, Wyatt Gleeson, Dusty Golden, Garrett Green, Jordan Hansen, Chad Hartman, Griffin Koester, Keaton Martz, Jared Parsonage, Brock Radford, Coy Robbins, Ashton Sahli, Chanse Switzer, Nick Tetz, Stefan Tonita

United States (2) – Boudreaux Campbell, Wyatt Rogers

BREAKDOWN BY PROVINCE –

Alberta – Tyler Craig, Wyatt Gleeson, Dusty Golden, Garrett Green, Jordan Hansen, Griffin Koester, Keaton Martz, Brock Radford, Coy Robbins, Ashton Sahli, Nick Tetz; British Columbia – Jake Gardner; Saskatchewan – Dakota Buttar, Cody Coverchuk, Weston Davidson, Chad Hartman, Jared Parsonage, Chanse Switzer, Stefan Tonita.