The team roping battle in Puyallup at the 2024 PRCA Playoff Series Finale kicked off Sept. 5. There will be 24 teams battling for a spot in the final four to not only lock themselves in for the Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls but also keep their NFR dreams alive.

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The bubble implications continue to grow in Puyallup as five of the eight teams that advanced to Sunday’s round of eight Semifinals are comprised of ropers on the bubble: Cyle Denison and Tanner Braden, Wyatt and Paden Bray, Nelson Wyatt (his heeler Jonathan Torres is currently No. 9 in the world standings), Luke Brown and Travis Graves and Chad Masters and Wyatt Cox.

Denison is currently 25th in the world standings with $74,475.88 won on the year, and Braden is 18th with $89,773.24. Denison is $20,216.34 behind 15th, whereas Braden is $6,132.40 outside the Top 15. The team has won $1,725 a man, and the The $13,000-per-man swing at Puyallup could give Denison a much-needed lift toward the Top 15 and push Braden back in. A top-four finish at Puyallup would also get them into Sioux Falls the last week of the season—a major coup for the one-time NFR qualifiers.

The Bray brothers are $21,563.15 and $25,640.84 outside the Top 15 with Wyatt at 26th and Paden at 28th in the world standings. Wyatt and Paden have pocketed $3,019 each and, like Denison and Braden, are one step closer to the potential to jump greatly in the standings.

While Wyatt’s partner Torres is already in the Top 15, Wyatt has been fighting tooth and nail and is only $3,711.16 behind 15th. The $1,294 a man Wyatt and Torres won in the second performance will tighten that race up even more.

Luke Brown and Travis Graves have added $2,157 a man to the world standings earnings, which were $88,156.29 for Brown and $82,780.08 for Graves. At 18th and 19th in the world, Brown is $6,535.93 outside the Top 15 and Graves is $13,125.56 outside.

Chad Masters and Wyatt Cox were on fire in their set, pocketing $5,176 a man. Prior to Puyallup, Masters was 22nd and outside the Top 15 by $17,794.96, and Cox was 21st and outside the Top 15 by $15,386.83. Making the final four is crucial, and that $13,000 check every team is chasing could potentially push them both back into the Top 15.

2024 Puyallup team roping Semifinals draw

2024 Puyallup team roping results

Set 1

First performance: 1. Dustin Egusquiza/Levi Lord, 4.1 seconds, $3,450 each; 2. Chad Masters/Wyatt Cox, 4.6, $2,588; 3. Cyle Denison/Tanner Braden, 4.7, $1,725; 4. Luke Brown/Travis Graves, 4.8, $863.

Second performance: 1. Clay Smith/Coleby Payne, 3.8 seconds, $3,450 each; 2. Chad Masters/Wyatt Cox, 4.7, $2,588; 3. (tie) Luke Brown/Travis Graves and Nelson Wyatt/Jonathan Torres, 4.9, $1,294 each.

Four advancing: 1. Chad Masters/Wyatt Cox, 9.3 seconds on two head; 2. Luke Brown/Travis Graves, 9.7; 3. Nelson Wyatt/Jonathan Torres, 9.8; 4. Cyle Denison/Tanner Braden, 11.1.

Set 2

First performance: 1. Coleman Proctor/Logan Medlin, 4.4 seconds, $3,450 each; 2. Clint Summers/Jake Long, 4.6, $2,588; 3. (tie) Wyatt Bray/Paden Bray and Jake Smith/Douglas Rich, 5.2, $1,294 each.

Second performance: 1. Coleman Proctor/Logan Medlin, 4.5 seconds, $3,450 each; 2. Brenten Hall/Kaden Profili, 4.6, $2,588; 3. Wyatt Bray/Paden Bray, 4.7, $1,725; 4. Clint Summers/Jake Long, 4.8, $863.

Advancing: 1. Coleman Proctor/Logan Medlin, 8.9 seconds on two head; 2. Clint Summers/Jake Long, 9.4; 3. Wyatt Bray/Paden Bray, 9.9; 4. Jake Smith/Douglas Rich, 10.1.

Semifinals: 1. Cyle Denison/Tanner Braden, 4.3 seconds; 2. Luke Brown/Travis Graves, 4.6; 3. Coleman Proctor/Logan Medlin, 4.7; 4. Wyatt Bray/Paden Bray, 4.9; 5. Nelson Wyatt/Jonathan Torres, 5.5, $1,500; 6. Chad Masters/Wyatt Cox, 9.0, $1,500; 7. (tie) Jake Smith/Douglas Rich and Clint Summers/Jake Long, NT, $1,500 each.

Finals: 1. Coleman Proctor/Logan Medlin, 4.9 seconds, $13,000 each; 2. Cyle Denison/Tanner Braden, 9.7, $9,750; 3. Luke Brown/Travis Graves, 9.8, $6,500; 4. Wyatt Bray/Paden Bray, NT, $3,250.

2024 Puyallup team roping draw

Thursday, Sept. 5; reverse order for Friday, Sept. 6

Saturday, Sept. 7 matinee; reverse order for Saturday, Sept. 7 night perf

Puyallup team roping format

There will be two “sets” or “sections,” both comprised of 12 teams. Each set is two go-rounds, back-to-back. Following the long rounds will be a top eight Semifinals, followed by a top four Finals.

The top four teams based on the average from each of the two sets will advance to the Semifinals on Sunday, Sept. 8. The top four teams from the Semifinals will advance to the Finals.

Projected Payout

Puyallup Rodeo has a purse of $73,000 for both the head and heel side. 

Payoff per performance:

• 1st: $3,450 per man
• 2nd: $2,587.50 per man
• 3rd: $1,725 per man
• 4th: $862.50 per man

In the Semifinals, which will be made up of eight teams, 5th-8th will receive $1,500 a man. The top four teams will advance to the Finals. Payoff for the Finals is as follows:

• 1st: $13,000 per man
• 2nd: $9,750 per man
• 3rd: $6,500 per man
• 4th: $3,250 per man

A refresher on Puyallup

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 (or highest score). 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, compete in Puyallup at the PRCA Playoff Series Finale Sept. 5-8. The top eight teams from the Playoff Series year-end standings and the top four from Puyallup will earn a position into The Governor’s Cup, Sept. 26-28.

Why does the Governor’s Cup matter? 

The Governor’s Cup takes place Sept. 26-28, 2024, and offers a payout across eight events of $1 million. In the team roping, there is a purse of $144,444 per side. 

The close of the PRCA regular season is Sept. 30. That means that the following massive payouts will hit during the final days of the season and it will have an impact on who makes the National Finals Rodeo in December as the buzzer sounds.