The cutoff for the 2025 Cinch Playoff Series in Puyallup, Washington, has come and gone, determining the field of 24 who will compete for not only season-changing money but also their shot at the Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls.
What makes Puyallup so critical? A purse of $75,000 is up for grabs on each end, meaning a team could win up to $20,420 a man (if they were to win both long rounds in their set and the Finals). Pair that payoff with a ticket to Sioux Falls, and Puyallup proves its significance in the race to the Thomas & Mack.
*Note: The list below of the top 23 in the PRCA Playoff Series standings is unofficial as of Aug. 19.*
Outside the Puyallup cut
At No. 7 in the world standings with $107,986.02, Riley and Brady Minor are having their best season since 2022 when they last qualified for the NFR. However, at No. 29 and 28 in the PRCA Playoff Series standings, the Minors find themselves outside the Puyallup cutoff. But, thanks to a solid NFR Open, they should be in. The top 23 from the tour standings qualify to Puyallup, as well as the NFR Open winners. If the winners from Colorado Springs should also qualify off of tour points, the next highest-placing team will roll up. As fate would have it, Dustin Egusquiza and Levi Lord both qualified for Puyallup from the standings, rolling up the second-place team from Colorado Springs. While the Minors tied Jake Smith and Jonathan Torres for second at the NFR Open, Smith and Torres are also in off the standings.
Lightning Aguilera and Wyatt Cox find themselves on the bubble of the PRCA world standings at No. 13 and 18, but they did not qualify for Puyallup. With $92,553.99 and $80,731.80 won on the year, Aguilera and Cox are still alive in the Top 15 fight, they are just now faced with a tougher challenge. But it isn’t impossible. In 2023, Tyler Worley punched his ticket to his third NFR, and he did it without much luck in the PRCA Playoff Series. Yes, Worley qualified for Puyallup that year, but he only won $838 while there and did not advance to Sioux Falls.
Sid Sporer has been knocking on the door of the Top 15 since his win at the Ponoka Stampede with Kolton Schmidt this summer. And while he’s now No. 14 with $84,331.84 won on the year thus far, he didn’t make the Puyallup cut. Sporer, who is hunting his first NFR qualification, sat right outside the top 23 in the tour standings at No. 27. Like Aguilera and Cox, Sporer now has to hit the road even harder, capitalizing at all the regular season rodeos he can.
Bubble teams with Puyallup lifeline
Just as some teams are fighting to stay alive in the Top 15 without a trip to Puyallup, there are also a handful of bubble teams whose seasons suddenly have a major opportunity to turn around, now that they’ve punched their tickets to the Cinch Playoff Series.
Tyler Tryan and Denton Dunning are young guns staring down their first NFR, and despite sitting on the bubble at No. 14 and 13 in the world standings, they sit even better in the tour standings. The pair of 19-year-olds are fifth in the PRCA Playoff Series standings meaning they’re in for Puyallup and sitting in good shape for Sioux Falls giving them two extra chances for major money.
Cody Snow and Hunter Koch have fought hard for their spot at No. 15 in the world standings, and they live to see another day as they are also headed to Puyallup. Other bubble teams like Andrew Ward and Jake Long (No. 16 and 17) and Dawson and Dillon Graham (No. 18 and 17) and headers Shay Carroll (No. 17) and Brenten Hall (No. 19) are also in for Puyallup where a solid weekend could quickly jump them high inside the Top 15.
While Puyallup is vital for all bubble teams, it’s perhaps most important for Jeff Flenniken and Buddy Hawkins. The team new in 2025 just barely made the cut at No. 23 in the PRCA Playoff Series standings. But at No. 35 and 31 in the PRCA world standings, Puyallup could be the spark that turns their season around and puts them back in the NFR fight. For Flenniken, $33,581.53 separates him from 15th, and $30,508.22 separates Hawkins from 15th. While that gap is more than they could win in Puyallup, the Northwest payday could close that gap and send them to Sioux Falls where anything can happen.
Will Woodfin is another dark horse in the race. At No. 37 in the world standings and $37,909.69 outside the Top 15, Woodfin’s season almost depends on the fact that he qualified for Puyallup. Woodfin first entered the Top 15 and tour chats back when he won the San Angelo Stock Show and Rodeo, a tour rodeo in April. To solidify his spot in Puyallup, Woodfin capitalized this past weekend at tour rodeos in Canby, Oregon, and Gooding, Idaho.
PRCA Playoff Series Standings
As of Aug. 19, 2025
Heading
| 1 | Jake Smith | 1017.25 |
| 2 | Clint Summers | 1012.33 |
| 3 | Kaleb Driggers | 1006.63 |
| 4 | Cyle Denison | 981.38 |
| 5 | Tyler Tryan | 903.83 |
| 6 | Tyler Wade | 853.83 |
| 7 | Clay Smith | 793.25 |
| 8 | Cody Snow | 790.75 |
| 9 | Tanner Tomlinson | 788.13 |
| 10 | Luke Brown | 769 |
| 11 | Andrew Ward | 730.2 |
| 12 | Kolton Schmidt | 719.38 |
| 13 | Dustin Egusquiza | 675.25 |
| 14 | Derrick Begay | 655 |
| 15 | Aaron Tsinigine | 636.88 |
| 16 | Nelson Wyatt | 627.25 |
| 17 | J.C. Yeahquo | 621.75 |
| 18 | Dawson Graham | 605.2 |
| 19 | Coy Rahlmann | 601.75 |
| 20 | Brenten Hall | 597.75 |
| 21 | Brye Crites | 570.83 |
| 22 | Shay Dixon Carroll | 553.75 |
| 23 | Jeff Flenniken | 504.38 |
Heeling
| 1 | Douglas Rich | 1017.25 |
| 2 | Junior Nunes Nogueira | 1006.63 |
| 3 | Jade Corkill | 990.33 |
| 4 | Lane Mitchell | 981.38 |
| 5 | Denton Dunning | 903.83 |
| 6 | Wesley Thorp | 853.83 |
| 7 | Coleby Payne | 834.25 |
| 8 | Hunter Koch | 790.75 |
| 9 | Travis Graves | 788.13 |
| 10 | Trey Yates | 769 |
| 11 | Jake Long | 730.2 |
| 12 | Levi Lord | 663.5 |
| 13 | Colter Todd | 655 |
| 14 | Jonathan Torres | 624.25 |
| 15 | Ross Ashford | 621.75 |
| 16 | Dillon Graham | 605.2 |
| 17 | Cole Curry | 601.75 |
| 18 | Kaden Profili | 597.75 |
| 19 | Tyler Worley | 593.83 |
| 20 | Logan Moore | 554.63 |
| 21 | Nicky Northcott | 550.5 |
| 22 | Will Woodfin | 513.46 |
| 23 | Buddy Hawkins | 504.38 |
2025 PRCA world standings
As of Aug. 19, 2025
Heading
| 1 | Tanner Tomlinson | $149,263.65 |
| 2 | Derrick Begay | $144,986.38 |
| 3 | Dustin Egusquiza | $135,295.67 |
| 4 | Kaleb Driggers | $127,113.75 |
| 5 | Tyler Wade | $126,970.96 |
| 6 | Clay Smith | $115,932.04 |
| 7 | Riley Minor | $107,986.00 |
| 8 | Clint Summers | $ 100,057.53 |
| 9 | Jake Smith | $99,334.39 |
| 10 | Kolton Schmidt | $99,146.39 |
| 11 | Aaron Tsinigine | $95,845.57 |
| 12 | Cyle Denison | $95,460.39 |
| 13 | Lightning Aguilera | $92,553.99 |
| 14 | Tyler Tryan | $85,494.30 |
| 15 | Cody Snow | $84,145.90 |
| 16 | Andrew Ward | $83,786.05 |
| 17 | Shay Dixon Carroll | $83,596.40 |
| 18 | Dawson Graham | $83,172.29 |
| 19 | Brenten Hall | $100,057.53 |
| 20 | J.C. Yeahquo | $80,349.60 |
| 21 | Luke Brown | $79,632.76 |
| 22 | Nelson Wyatt | $75,986.47 |
| 23 | Coy Rahlmann | $71,562.95 |
| 24 | Brye Crites | $68,933.94 |
| 25 | Mason Appleton | $60,259.15 |
Heeling
| 1 | Colter Todd | $144,986.38 |
| 2 | Travis Graves | $142,353.22 |
| 3 | Levi Lord | $138,326.82 |
| 4 | Junior Nunes Nogueira | $127,113.75 |
| 5 | Wesley Thorp | $126,970.96 |
| 6 | Coleby Payne | $109,583.86 |
| 7 | Brady Minor | $107,986.02 |
| 8 | Jade Corkill | $100,382.75 |
| 9 | Lane Mitchell | $96,489.91 |
| 10 | Jonathan Torres | $90,475.47 |
| 11 | Douglas Rich | $88,584.38 |
| 12 | Kaden Profili | $86,026.05 |
| 13 | Denton Dunning | $85,054.74 |
| 14 | Sid Sporer | $84,331.84 |
| 15 | Hunter Koch | $84,145.90 |
| 16 | Dillon Graham | $83,172.30 |
| 17 | Jake Long | $82,039.50 |
| 18 | Wyatt Cox | $80,731.80 |
| 19 | Trey Yates | $79,632.75 |
| 20 | Ross Ashford | $75,255.48 |
| 21 | Cole Curry | $74,529.69 |
| 22 | Tyler Worley | $71,733.94 |
| 23 | Nicky Northcott | $68,471.16 |
| 24 | Jeremy Buhler | $65,710.85 |
| 25 | Logan Moore | $65,352.73 |
How the PRCA Playoff Series works
Standings are kept throughout the season and there is a championship event at the end of the year. Contestants competed at rodeos such as Odessa, San Antonio and Salinas–just to name a few–to earn points.
Points are distributed to contestants who place in the top 20 at each of the designated PRCA Playoff Series Rodeos, based on the fastest time. For rodeos with multiple rounds, the points are calculated based on the average. Tournament rodeos are more complicated, but points are assigned based on how far each competitor advanced through the tournament.
The *Top 23 in the standings, plus the NFR Open team roping champs, then compete in Puyallup at the Cinch Playoff Series. The Top 8 teams from the PRCA Playoff Series year-end standings and the Top 4 from Puyallup will earn a position into The Governor’s Cup.
The cutoff for Puyallup will be Aug. 18, and the Sioux Falls cutoff is Sept. 22. These are the final Playoff Series rodeos:
- Kennewick, Wash. – Horse Heaven Round-Up – Aug. 19-23
- Bremerton, Wash. – Kitsap Stampede – Aug. 20-24
- Tremonton, Utah – The Golden Spike Rodeo – Aug. 21-24
- Walla Walla, Wash. – Walla Walla Frontier Days – Aug. 27-31
- Ellensburg, Wash. – Ellensburg Rodeo – Aug. 27 – Sept. 1
- Filer, Idaho – Magic Valley Stampede – Aug. 28-30
- Lewiston, Idaho – Lewiston Roundup – Sept. 3-6
- Abilene, Texas – West Texas Fair & Rodeo – Sept. 4-13
- Albuquerque, N.M. – New Mexico State Fair & Rodeo – Sept. 4-14
- Puyallup, Wash. – Puyallup Rodeo – Sept. 5-8
- Pendleton, Ore. – Pendleton Round-Up – Sept. 10-13
- Mandan, N.D. – Rough Rider Cup – Sept. 19-21
