PBR: TICKET GALAXY TICKET TO THE MAJORS: LAST COWBOY STANDING

BY: Justin Felisko (PBR Senior Writer/Editor)

LAS VEGAS – How high are the stakes for this weekend’s Last Cowboy Standing, presented by Ariat, at Helldorado Days?

Major you could say.

The third PBR Major of the 2018 season has arrived and with it comes the opportunity for riders to make one final splash in the world standings before the 25th PBR: Unleash The Beast takes its summer break.
While there will be multiple non-premier series events across the United States and the world this summer, none will compare to what a rider can accomplish inside the Thomas & Mack Center this weekend.
One rider can earn potentially 1,250 points toward the world standings at Last Cowboy Standing. The champion will earn a minimum of 625 world points and $100,000.

RELATED: Visit PBR.com for more information.

Each round winner earns 125 points toward the world standings, as well.

A rider needs to reach 8 seconds to advance to the next round.

Last Cowboy Standing is a minimum of two rounds and a maximum of five. At least 25 riders will advance to Round 2, with any draw spots being filled by the current world standings heading into Last Cowboy Standing if there are less than 25 rides in Round 1.

If all riders buck off in Rounds 2, 3 or 4, then all riders that attempted a bull advance to the next round.

If there is more than one ride in the final round (Round 5), then the Last Cowboy Standing will be the rider with the highest-ride score in Round 5. If there are no rides in Round 5, then the Last Cowboy Standing will be the rider with the most round points that had competed in Round 5.

The PBR Majors, which began in February 2015, have become a ticket into the World Championship race.

This weekend is the 14th PBR Major in PBR history. Entering this season, eight of the previous 11 Major winners finished no lower than 12th in the world standings.

Fans can watch Round 1 of Last Cowboy Standing beginning at 10:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network
Current world No. 2 Ramon de Lima has spent seven weeks as the world No. 1 after winning Iron Cowboy in February.

However, even before Last Cowboy Standing was deemed a PBR Major, winning Last Cowboy Standing also propelled riders to a strong finish in the world title race.

Three of the five past Last Cowboy Standing champions finished in the Top 3 of the world standings – Kaique Pacheco (2016), Joao Ricardo Vieira(2015) and Silvano Alves (2013), while Alves also won the 2012 World Championship after winning his first Last Cowboy Standing title earlier that season.

2014 winner Guilherme Marchi finished seventh in the world standings after a right knee injury saw him lose the No. 1 spot in the world during the stretch run to the Finals.

Inaugural winner Luke Snyder finished 2011 12th in the world standings.

Here is a look at the previous champions of Last Cowboy Standing

Kaique Pacheco (2017 & 2016)
Perennial world title contender Kaique Pacheco comes into Las Vegas on the cusp of regaining the world No. 1 ranking. Pacheco has won Last Cowboy Standing for two consecutive years by going 5-for-6. Pacheco is 8-for-11 in four trips to Las Vegas for Last Cowboy Standing.

What a victory this weekend could potentially mean: Pacheco would surge to the No. 1 world ranking.

​Joao Ricardo Vieira (2015)
Joao Ricardo Vieira won the two first PBR Majors in 2015, and his victory at Last Cowboy Standing had him in the driver’s seat for the World Championship. Vieira went into the 2015 summer break with a 1,002.5-point lead in the standings, but it wasn’t enough to hold off a red-hot J.B. Mauney in the final three months of the season.
What a victory this weekend could potentially mean: Vieira would move as high as potentially No. 6.

Guilherme Marchi (2014)
Guilherme Marchi won the 2014 Last Cowboy Standing to head into the 2014 summer break No. 1 in the world standings. Marchi had been the No. 1 rider for 11 of the last 12 weeks at the time of his victory. However, Marchi  injured his PCL in his right knee during the victory and that injury would only worsen as the season went on.

The 2008 World Champion ultimately finished seventh in the world standings.

What a victory this weekend could potentially mean: Marchi could move as high as No. 4.

Silvano Alves (2013 & 2012)
Silvano Alves won the second Last Cowboy Standing event in Las Vegas (2013) a year after he won the Detroit LCS event.

The three-time World Champion is 11-for-23 (47.83 percent) at all Last Cowboy Standing formatted events, but it also is important to note Alves’ dominance inside the Thomas & Mack Center.

The 30-year-old won all three of his gold buckles and the 2015 World Finals event average inside the home of UNLV basketball. Alves is 27-for-36 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

What a victory could potentially mean: Alves could move to No. 6 in the world

Luke Snyder (2011)
Luke Snyder won the inaugural Last Cowboy Standing pay-per-view event in Las Vegas by going 3-for-3 with two 90-point rides. Snyder won the event with 90 points on Cooper Tires Wild & Out. Snyder won a whopping $217,500.
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Repost by Jenna