With the new addition of the 2023 PRCA Playoff Series Governor’s Cup in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, which will pay $1 million across eight events, people began asking questions. Luckily, we have answers.

What is the PRCA Playoff Series?

You might remember the ProRodeo Tour in 2021. Today, it’s officially called the PRCA Playoff Series. Standings are kept throughout the season and there is a championship event at the end of the year. Contestants competed at rodeos such as Rapid City, San Antonio and Salinas, just to name a few, to earn points, and these are the remaining rodeos in the 2023 Playoff tour.

How do Athletes Accumulate Points?

PRCA Playoff Series standings are points based. There are three levels of points based upon the total purse money of a given rodeo.

•      Top Tier —more than $650,000 total purse
•      Middle Tier — between $649,999 and $325,000
•      Bottom Tier — less than $324,999

Points are distributed to contestants who place in the top 20 at each of the 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.

READ: $1M NFR Playoff Primer

What is Different in 2023 with the Playoff Series?

The 2022 Playoff Finale took place in Puyallup, Washington. In 2023, the PRCA announced that the top 24 athletes from the 2023 PRCA Playoff Series will compete in Puyallup at the Washington State Fair on the weekend of September 7-10. But that isn’t the close of the Playoff Series this year, like it was in 2022.

READ: $13K Puyallup Payday Puts Proctor and Medlin in Top 5 Position

Welcome to Sioux Falls

After Puyallup, the teams who finish in the top four in Puyallup will meet up with the top eight in the 2023 PRCA Playoff Series standings (on the year) and head to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for the 2023 Cinch Playoffs Governor’s Cup.

What is the Governor’s Cup, and Why does it Matter?

The Governor’s Cup takes place September 28-30, 2023, and offers a payout across eight events of $1 million. 

The close of the PRCA regular season is September 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.

Governor’s Cup Format

The Governor’s Cup will allow the 12 qualifying contestants to compete in rounds one and two of competition. 

Those rounds will have the following payout: 

1. $10,000
2. $7,500
3. $5,000
4. $2,500

After the first two full rounds, the top eight teams on two head will advance to Saturday’s round. In Saturday’s clean-slate round, fifth-eighth place will pay $2,555 each, and the top four fastest times will advance to a four-man short round. The four-man shootout round will pay the following amounts as the current and unofficial projected payout from the PRCA. 

1. $25,000
2. $19,000
3. $12,000
4. $6,000

2023 PRCA Playoff Series Standings

As of August 9, 2023