John Crimber wins 2026 PBR world title with two 90-point rides in Fort Worth

FORT WORTH, Texas — Folks, when the gate cracked open on Championship Sunday, John Crimber did not just ride — he roared. The 20-year-old from Decatur, Texas, delivered two 90-point rides, won both final-day rounds and walked out of Dickies Arena as the 2026 PBR World Champion.

The victory capped a dramatic Professional Bull Riders World Finals: Unleash The Beast showdown that saw Crimber hold off Australia’s Brady Fielder in one of the tightest title races of the season. Results and statistics are from PBR’s World Finals release.

Crimber Answers The Bell On Championship Sunday

Crimber came into the final day with pressure riding high and the gold buckle still within reach for Fielder.

Then came Round 8.

In a must-ride moment, Crimber matched up with What’s Poppin and brought the Dickies Arena crowd to its feet with a 91.35-point ride. That round-winning score punched his ticket into the Championship Round and kept him in control of the world title race.

Then, with the bright lights on and the buckle on the line, Crimber climbed aboard Tigger in Round 9 and delivered a 92.90-point ride. That was another round win, another statement ride and the final stamp on his first PBR world championship.

“This is what I’ve dreamed of since I was a little kid playing in the living room pretending I was a bull rider,” Crimber said on the Paramount+ telecast. “This is what we live for — to become a World Champion and the best bull rider in the world.”

A Title Race That Went Right Down To The Short Round

Crimber edged Fielder by 187.83 points in the final Unleash The Beast standings.
The title chase had tightened after Crimber went 0-for-4 during the opening weekend at Cowtown Coliseum. His lead, once 169.5 points after the regular-season finale in Tacoma, Washington, was cut to 135.5 points before the World Finals shifted to Dickies Arena.

That is where the young Texan found his rhythm.

After a rough start to the Finals, Crimber covered July for 89.40 points in Round 6, followed with an 84.95-point ride on Icky Thump in Round 7, and then unloaded back-to-back 90-point rides on Championship Sunday.

Fielder, the only rider left with a path to overtake him, made his own run but could not close the gap. He finished fourth in the event aggregate.

Crimber Dedicates Buckle To His Father

The win carried deep family meaning for Crimber.

“This world title, it’s not just for myself,” he said. “This is for my dad, too. He’s the one who brought me here and made me who I am. His career was cut short, so this one’s for him, not me.”

Crimber finished the season with a 55.17 per cent ride rate, going 32-for-58. He earned $1,377,907, including the $1-million world champion bonus. He also led the tour with eight round wins and recorded two event victories during the 2026 campaign.

Crimber becomes one of 23 riders in PBR history to win the world championship and the 13th American cowboy to claim the gold buckle.

Hudson Bolton Wins World Finals Event Title

While Crimber claimed the season crown, Hudson Bolton of Milan, Tennessee, took the World Finals event championship.

Bolton went 7-for-9 across the nine-round showcase and earned the $500,000 event champion bonus. He finished the season with $623,493 in prize money.

Bolton’s strong Finals performance pushed him into the late-season title conversation, but an 0-for-2 Championship Sunday kept him from catching Crimber.

Ransom Crowned World Champion Bull

On the animal athlete side, Ransom delivered one of the closest bull title finishes in PBR history.

Ransom was crowned the 2026 YETI PBR World Champion Bull and also earned the YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the Finals title.

The championship bull edged Pegasus by just .01 points in the final average, finishing with a 45.96-point average compared with Pegasus at 45.95.

Ransom’s World Finals résumé included a 47.15-point bull score in Round 2 and a 46.75-point bull score in Round 5. In Sunday’s Championship Round, Ransom added a 47.35-point bull score, enough to claim the world title.

Rizzo Named Rookie Of The Year

Marco Rizzo of Quitman, Georgia, was named the 2026 PBR Rookie of the Year after holding off Maverick Smith of Cabool, Missouri, by 30 Unleash The Beast points.

Rizzo finished his first full premier-series season with a 21-for-57 record.

“It’s a relief,” Rizzo said on the Paramount+ telecast. “Shout out to Maverick. He pushed me to be my absolute best this season.”

Aparecido Claims Lane Frost/Brent Thurman Award

Eduardo Aparecido earned the Lane Frost/Brent Thurman Award for the highest-marked ride of the 2026 PBR World Finals.

The veteran rider posted a career-best 96.10-point ride on Ransom in Round 5. The score stands as the third-highest ride ever recorded at a World Finals event and the eighth-highest score in PBR history.

Season Honours And Final Notes

Blake Sharp was named PBR Stock Contractor of the Year for the fourth consecutive season.

Daylon Swearingen, the 2022 PBR World Champion, won the Mason Lowe Award for the highest-scored ride of the regular season after posting 94.90 points on Pegasus at the regular-season finale in Tacoma.

For international rodeo and bull riding fans, Fort Worth delivered the kind of finish that keeps the sport alive from Texas to Australia, Brazil, Canada and beyond: a young champion, a hard-charging challenger, a rookie race decided by inches and a world champion bull crowned by a hundredth of a point.

When the dust settled at Dickies Arena, the gold buckle belonged to John Crimber.