Two-Time PBR Teams MVP and Gamblers’ First-Ever Draft Pick Returns to the Green and Black
AUSTIN, Texas (July 7, 2026) — The Austin Gamblers, the 2024 PBR Teams Champions, announced today that three-time PBR World Champion José Vitor Leme is returning to the green and black.
Leme has been a foundational member of the Gamblers organization since the launch of PBR Teams, becoming the franchise’s first-ever draft pick when Austin selected him No. 1 overall in the inaugural 2022 PBR Teams Draft. He quickly established himself as one of the league’s most dominant riders, winning PBR Teams MVP honors in both 2022 and 2023 as Austin finished atop the regular-season standings in each of the league’s first two seasons.
“Jose has been a member of our organization since day one, being our very first draft pick,” said JJ Gottsch, CEO of the Austin Gamblers. “We’ve had many special moments together, and look forward to even more success in the future as we continue our goal of winning more championships.”
During the 2022 PBR Teams season, Leme proved to be the right No. 1 overall pick, going 19-for-25, covering 76% of his animal athlete opponents, to win the league’s inaugural MVP honor. His dominant campaign included a seven-out ride streak during the Gamblers’ championship push from Sept. 23 to Oct. 15, highlighted by three consecutive 90-point rides.
Leme again delivered for Austin in 2023, earning his second consecutive PBR Teams MVP honor after going 20-for-29, covering 69% of his bulls, and helping propel the Gamblers to a league-best 19-9 record. Austin went on to reach the PBR Teams Championship Game for the first time in franchise history that season.
In 2024, Leme remained a leader for the Gamblers as the team ascended to the top of PBR Teams, capturing their first league championship. Austin caught fire in the postseason, including a perfect 5-for-5 performance in the Semifinals against the Kansas City Outlaws before defeating the Carolina Cowboys in the Championship Game to be crowned the 2024 PBR Teams Champions.
Leme is widely regarded as one of the greatest bull riders in PBR history, with achievements including riding legendary bull Woopaa for a record-breaking 98.75 points during the 2021 PBR World Finals, earning the sport’s first and only perfect 50-point rider score. He returns to an Austin team that has consistently been among the league’s top contenders. The Gamblers finished second in the 2025 PBR Teams standings with a 24-11 record, marking the third time in four seasons the team finished in the top two.
The Austin Gamblers will host their fifth-annual homestand, PBR Gambler Days, in Austin, Texas, at Moody Center from August 21 to 23, 2026. Tickets are available now.
ABOUT AUSTIN GAMBLERS
2024 PBR Teams Champions, the Austin Gamblers are based in Austin, Texas, where the team’s fifth annual Gambler Days homestand will take place at the state-of-the-art Moody Center on August 21-23, 2026. The team is coached by PBR legend and world champion Michael Gaffney. Under the leadership of JJ Gottsch as CEO, the Austin Gamblers are owned by Egon and Abby Durban. Both originally from Texas, Egon is Co-CEO of Silver Lake, the global leader in technology investing, and serves on the board of directors of Dell Technologies, whose founder, Michael Dell, is also a minority investor in the Gamblers.
All PBR Teams events are carried on either CBS Television Network, The CW or Paramount+. For more information, visit PBR.com, or follow on social media.
ABOUT PBR TEAMS
PBR Teams is an elite league featuring the world’s top bull riders competing on teams in five-on-five games leading to a Team Championship at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. During the 2026 season, the league’s fifth, each of the 10 teams – Arizona Ridge Riders of Glendale, AZ; Austin Gamblers of Austin, TX; Carolina Cowboys of Greensboro, NC; Florida Freedom of Sunrise, FL; Kansas City Outlaws of Kansas City, MO; Missouri Thunder of Ridgedale, MO; Nashville Stampede of Nashville, TN; New York Mavericks of Belmont Park, NY; Oklahoma Wildcatters of Oklahoma City, OK; and Texas Rattlers of Fort Worth, TX – will host a three-day homestand. Neutral-site games in Anaheim, CA, and Fort Collins, CO, are planned for the 2026 season as well.
PBR Teams, launched in July 2022, builds on the existing structure of professional bull riding with the same basic rules for judging and scoring qualified 8-second bull rides. In events staged in a tournament-style format, all teams compete in head-to-head matchups against a different opponent each day. Each game features five riders per team squaring off against another team. Full team rosters are comprised of seven riders on the Protected Roster and three Reserve Roster riders. The team with the highest aggregate score of qualified rides among its riders is declared the winner of each game.
PBR is part of TKO Group Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: TKO), a global sports and entertainment company. For more information, visit PBR.com, or follow on Facebook at Facebook.com/PBR, Twitter at Twitter.com/PBR, and YouTube at YouTube.com/PBR.
Last Updated on 07/09/2026 by Peter Varlet
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