As the 2025 PRCA Playoff Series barrels toward the Cinch Playoff Series cutoff, the first week of August proved a pivotal stretch in the high-stakes tour.

Now a season make-or-break for rodeo athletes, the Cinch Playoff Series (Sept. 4-7) in Puyallup, Washington, and the Governor’s Cup (Sept. 26-28) in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, offer some of the richest payouts of the regular season. With the Aug. 18, cutoff for Puyallup quickly approaching, team ropers have been hitting tour rodeos left and right, trying to secure their spot inside the Top 23 of the Playoff Series standings.

PRCA Playoff Series Rodeos from July 30-Aug. 3

• Dodge City Roundup Rodeo (Dodge City, Kansas)
• Mountain Valley Stampede (Heber City, Utah)
• Douglas County Fair and Rodeo (Castle Rock, Colorado)

Cyle Denison and Lane Mitchell had perhaps the most important weekend July 30-Aug. 3, not because of the $10,533 they both won but because they took the lead in the Playoff Series standings. Denison and Mitchell jumped from roughly third in the standings to No. 1, both with 932.13 points after winning the Dodge City Roundup Rodeo in Kansas. They also finished fourth at the Douglas County Fair and Rodeo in Castle Rock, Colorado, to give them another leg up in the tour standings.

Denison knows first-hand the impacts Puyallup and Sioux Falls can have on an athlete’s season as his first NFR qualification came–in part– thanks to Sioux Falls in 2024. Some might say Denison was a longshot last year, coming from outside the Top 15 at the Governor’s Cup to punch his ticket to the Thomas & Mack. As for Mitchell, he’s potentially on the brink of his first NFR after coming close at No. 16 in 2022. Denison and Michell currently sit No. 8 and No. 7 in the world standings with $91,414.05 and $92,443.57, respectively, so success on the tour front could be vital in their season.

Jake Smith and Douglas Rich had long been the leaders of this year’s Playoff Series standings. Now both sitting No. 2 with 922.5 points, Smith and Rich took control after winning the Snake River Stampede in Nampa, Idaho, this June, and they held their position until this past weekend. Smith and Rich currently sit No. 7 and No. 12 in the world standings with $91,550.91 and $80,800.90, making a trip to Puyallup and Sioux Falls a must for their season.

The 2021 and 2022 World Champs Kaleb Driggers and Junior Nogueira also had a big weekend on the Playoff Series and world standings fronts, jumping to No. 6 in the tour standings with 780.63 points. Driggers and Nogueira won $13,347 a man over the weekend with big hits in Dodge City and Heber City to give them the boost in the Playoff Series race. Driggers and Nogueira currently No. 6 and No. 5 in the world standings, both with $100,166.85.

JC Yeahquo and Ross Ashford are making moves in the tour standings as well, moving to No. 13 with 574.75 points. Yeahquo and Ashford had the highest-paying weekend, pocketing $19,027 a man. Both hunting their second NFR qualifications (Yeahquo made his debut in 2024 with Buddy Hawkins, and Ashford last qualified in 2021 with Clint Summers), Yeahquo and Ashford sit No. 16 and No. 15 in the world standings with $75,542.58 and $70,448.46, respectively. Yeahquo and Ashford’s biggest hit of the weekend came from splitting Castle Rock for $6,128 a man, but they also picked up second in Heber City, a round win in Dodge City and seventh in the aggregate (all tour rodeos).

The co-champions of Castle Rock Dustin Egusquiza and JC Flake had a much-needed tour weekend as well. While their win in Castle Rock, also for $6,128 a man, was their most significant hit of the weekend, they also won Heber City for $5,534 apiece. Though Egusquiza is No. 3 in the world with $125,142.74, this team greatly needs a push in the Playoff Series Standings. Seven-time NFR header Egusquiza is currently No. 16 with 562.5 points, but Flake sits outside the Top 23 at No. 28 with 346.5 points, 100.25 points behind No. 23. Flake is also No. 31 in the world standings with $48,576.02, so the fate of his season lies heavily on the PRCA Playoff Series standings. Oh, and to make things more interesting: Egusquiza is already locked in for Puyallup, thanks to his NFR Open win. This means their Playoff Series race is a matter of whether or not Flake will be joining him at the Puyallup Rodeo.

2025 PRCA Playoff Series team roping standings

A Refresher

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:

• LOGAN, UT
• LOVINGTON, NM
• HERMISTON, OR
• CALDWELL, ID
• GOODING, ID
• MOSES LAKE, WA
• CANBY, OR
• BREMERTON, WA
• KENNEWICK, WA
• TREMONTON, UT
• FILER, ID
• WALLA WALLA, WA
• ELLENSBURG, WA
• LEWISTON, ID
• PENDLETON, OR
• ABILENE, TX
• ALBUQUERQUE, NM
• MANDAN, ND

* If the NFR Open champion header and/or heeler do not enter or are already qualified based on Playoff Series Standings, the next highest ranked header and/or heeler from the Final Four Round of the NFR Open (who has not already qualified based on Playoff Series Standings) will be accepted.