The 2025 Cinch Playoff Series Finale Sept. 4-7, in Puyallup, Washington, didn’t exactly send shockwaves through the PRCA world standings, but it’s results will have a large effect on the NFR field this December.

The top four from Puyallup, plus the top eight in the PRCA Playoff Series standings, qualify for the Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls the last weekend of September. And while four rodeos remain in the tour keeping the standings wide open for another week, the field will feature bubble teams fighting tooth and nail.

Team ropers in Sioux Falls from Puyallup:

• Clint Summers and Jade Corkill
• Clay Smith and Nicky Northcott
• Dawson Graham and Dillon Graham
• Dustin Egusquiza and Will Woodfin

Clint Summers and Jade Corkill are well in world title contention after their Puyallup win, pocketing $16,472 a man at the Cinch Playoff Series Finale. Summers now sits No. 4 and $5,618.74 behind Tanner Tomlinson at No. 1. On the heel side, Corkill is No. 3 and $8,353.65 behind world leader Levi Lord. Summers and Corkill are locked in for the Governor’s Cup based off their top-four finish in Puyallup, but they also currently lead the PRCA Playoff Series standings.

Clay Smith and Nicky Northcott‘s second-place finish in Puyallup for a total of $13,560 a man was enough to skyrocket the frontrunner in the Resistol Rookie Heeler of the Year race inside the Top 15. While Smith has long been inside the Top 15, now sitting No. 3 with $150,011.45, Northcott had been fighting hard on the bubble in the No. 20-23 range since the start of August. Now, the 18-year-old phenom is No. 13 with $102,537.64. With just $6,834.42 separating him from No. 16, however, it’s a good thing he’s locked in for Sioux Falls as that isn’t a secure lead with three weeks left on the regular season. A spot at this year’s NFR would make Northcott the first Resistol Rookie of the Year in a decade to qualify for the Finals his rookie season.

Three-time World Champ Junior Nogueira was the most-recent to do so, qualifying for his first NFR in 2014, the same year he won the Resistol Rookie Heeler of the Year title.

Canadian brothers Dawson and Dillon Graham have been bubble boys for the last three years, and 2025 may be the year they burst it. The Grahams spent weeks dancing around the Top 15 last year and, in 2023, finished No. 19 and 16 in the world standings. After winning third in Puyallup and $6,700 a man, the Grahams are No. 12 and 11 in the world with $110,435.52 (also thanks in part to a $1,904-a-man check at Utah’s Own PRCA Rodeo in Salt Lake City Sept. 8). With little cushion between the Grahams and the No. 16 men–Shay Carroll on the head side with $102,256.66 and Trey Yates in the heeling with $95,703.22–it’s most important that they secured their spots in Sioux Falls. To their advantage, however, no headers behind Dawson are qualified for Sioux Falls yet, and only two behind Dillon are locked in.

While Dustin Egusquiza is essentially locked in for his eighth NFR at No. 6 with $145,771.17, his Puyallup and now Sioux Falls partner Will Woodfin is still clawing his way to the top. Egusquiza and Woodfin won fourth and $7,738 a man in Puyallup (plus $1,169 at the Lewiston Roundup in Idaho for Woodfin) to push Woodfin to No. 33. He also just pocketed $7,081 a man for the Round 1 win at the Pendleton Round-Up Sept. 8. With $39,499.69 separating him from No. 15 (not including the recent Pendleton money), Woodfin’s Sioux Falls qualification his is lifeline in the NFR battle as a team roper could bring home $55,822.40 if they were to clean sweep at the Governor’s Cup.

Entering and leaving Puyallup No. 16 might not have been what Shay Carroll pictured, but he’s less than $2,000 behind No. 15. Carroll and Levi Lord picked up $1,600 after advancing to the semifinals in Puyallup to put him at $102,256.66 won on the year. But, Carroll did not make the final four meaning he still needs to fight for a spot in Sioux Falls.

Luke brown and Trey Yates played strong bubble defense while also inching closer. Brown and Yates may sit No. 18 and 16 in the world, but they pocketed $6,538 a man over the weekend to close their gaps. Brown sits $8,385.43 behind Aaron Tsinigine at No. 15, while Yates is $2,308.73 behind Douglas Rich at No. 15. Though they aren’t in for Sioux Falls just yet, they’re still well alive. Lucky for them, they both currently sit ninth in the PRCA Playoff Series standings. And while only the top eight qualify for Sioux Falls, a spot in the standings opens up for each person inside the top eight who qualified through Puyallup.

Jake Smith and Douglas Rich currently sit No. 13 and 15 in the world, but they also sit fourth and third in the tour standings. While the PRCA Playoff Series standings could see shifts in the final week, their odds remain strong. Cyle Denison and Lane Mitchell find themselves in a similar to Smith and Rich. At No. 11 and 10 in the world standings, they ride the bubble line. But at No. 5 and 4 in the tour standings, they also see good odds in the Sioux Falls race. To add to Smith and Denison’s security as well is the fact that two headers ahead of them are already locked in for Sioux Falls. Also inside the top eight of the tour standings are Tyler Tryan and Denton Dunning, two young guns hunting for their first NFRs at No. 19 and 14.

PRCA Playoff Series standings

As of Sept. 9, 2025.

PRCA world standings

As of Sept. 9, 2025.