The PBR (Professional Bull Riders) is headed back to Charlotte, North Carolina, for the first time since 2011 with the PBR Express Employment Professionals Invitational, part of the elite Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS). On Sept. 18-19 at Time Warner Cable Arena, the Top 35 bull riders in the world will face the sportโs rankest bulls for their share of the $140,000 total purse.
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The PBR Express Employment Professionals Invitational will begin at 8 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 18, and at 7 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 19. Tickets start at $15 in price and are on sale now at the Time Warner Cable Arena box office, online at Ticketmaster.com and via phone at (800) 745-3000.
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PBR Elite Seats will also be available for purchase for $299. This VIP PBR experience includes a pre-event reception, backstage tours featuring a PBR 101 presentation, meet and greets with the PBRโs exclusive entertainer Flint Rasmussen and PBR bull riders, with seats located in a special VIP section right next to the chutes.
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During the two-day event, North Carolina fans will experience non-stop action filled with captivating 8-second rides and jaw-dropping wrecks as they watch 150-pound cowboys risk it all against opponents more than 10 times their size, weighing in at roughly 2,000 pounds.
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All Top-35 bull riders will ride one bull each in Rounds 1 and 2 on Friday and Saturday, respectively. After Round 2 on Saturday, the ridersโ individual scores will be totaled and the Top 15 riders on the weekend will advance to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round for one more ride and a chance at the $30,000 event title.
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Fan favorites and North Carolina natives 2013 PBR World Champion J.B. Mauney and Gage Gay are both scheduled to compete as well as four other World Champions, including Mike Lee (2004), Guilherme Marchi (2008), Renato Nunes (2010) and three-time World Champion Silvano Alves (2011, 2012, 2014).
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PBR Express Employment Professionals Invitational is stop No. 24 of 27 on the 2015 BFTS. The season will conclude at the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals in Las Vegas on Oct. 21-25 when the 2015 PBR World Champion, the bull rider who earns the most points during the 2015 season, will be crowned and receive the coveted World Championship belt buckle and a $1 million bonus.
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The BFTS is televised every week on CBS, CBS Sports Network โ the home of the PBR and networks around the world. BFTS telecasts are produced for the PBR under a multi-year agreement with David Neal Productions, a Los Angeles-based production company led by 34-time Emmyยฎ Award winner and Peabody Award winner David Neal, who serves as executive producer.
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About the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR)
The premier bull riding organization in the world began as a dream of 20 bull riders 23 years ago and is now a global sports phenomenon. PBR broadcasts reach more than half a billion households in 40 nations and territories around the world, and more than 3 million fans attend live events each year. On its elite Built Ford Tough Series, the PBR features the Top 35 bull riders in the world and the top bulls in the business. The televised Built Ford Tough Series, the BlueDEF Velocity Tour, the Touring Pro Division and the PBRโs international circuits in Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico have paid more than $140 million in earnings to its athletes. Twenty-seven men have earned more than $1 million, including three-time World Champion Silvano Alves who, in just 54 months, won more than $5.2 million to become the richest bull rider in history. For more information on the PBR, go to PBR.com, or follow on Facebook at Facebook.com/PBR, Twitter at Twitter.com/PBR, and YouTube at YouTube.com/PBR.
