After a thrilling Monster Energy Tour stop in Melbourne last weekend, the cowboys and their bulls head west into South Australia this Saturday, 22 August, for the 2026 Adelaide Invitational.
It will be PBR Australia’s first visit to the City of Churches since 2019, and the sold-out sign will again be out at the Adelaide Entertainment Centre, with doors opening at 5:30 p.m. ACST and the event starting at 7:00 p.m.
Fans with VIP On The Dirt tickets will have arena access from 4:30 p.m. for an exclusive preview show beginning at 5:00 p.m., featuring a chance to meet riders, stock contractors, and come face-to-face with an all-star bucking bull.
Event information and tickets are available from the PBR Australia website.
Download the Watch PBR Australia LIVE app to watch the 2026 Monster Energy Tour and the 2026 PBR Australia Grand Finals. You can use your VR headset, mobile device, or tablet, or cast to your TV. Visit watchvr.pbraustralia.com.au to secure your Ultimate Pass.
Victorian Sam Woodall celebrated his return to the Monster Energy Tour after an injury with a victory in front of his home-state crowd at the 2026 Melbourne Invitational last Saturday night.
The Heywood cowboy was the only rider to finish the night 2-for-2, with an aggregate score of 167.40 points and more than $10,000 in prizemoney, moving to fifth place in the PBR Australian National Standings.
Sam Woodall Storms Back to Claim Melbourne Invitational Victory
Two events were held in Adelaide during the 2019 season, and four-time PBR Australian National Champion Aaron Kleier dominated both stops, finishing a full score clear on both occasions.
The first was the second event of the season, held in December 2018, with the second event held in November 2019 as the final tour stop before the Grand Finals in Townsville.
After being the only rider to cover all three of his bulls (247.50 points) in the 2018 edition, the Clermont bull rider again went perfect in 2019, finishing with an aggregate of 242.25 points to claim his sixth event win of the season.
At the extended 2018 season event, held in December 2017, Cody Heffernan was the only cowboy to post a score in the Championship Round, leapfrogging Cliff Richardson and Fraser Babbington to claim his eleventh PBR event title.
The event format for the 2026 Adelaide Invitational will be the same as last weekend’s tour stop in Melbourne.
All twenty-four cowboys will face a bull in Rounds 1 and 2 of the competition.
The rider with the highest aggregate score at the conclusion will be crowned the event champion and take home the bulk of the $40,000 prize pool.
A maximum of 280 points will be available to any individual rider towards the 2026 PBR Australian National Standings. Each round winner will receive 40 points, and the event champion will receive 200 points.
View the updated 2026 PBR Australia National Standings.
Southern Run Bonus Update
The race for the $10,000 Southern Run bonus looks set to go down to the wire after thirteen riders posted scores in Melbourne last weekend.
This bonus will go to the rider with the highest combined score across the four rounds at the 2026 Melbourne and Adelaide Invitationals.
Sam Woodall is the front-runner, and the only competitor with two scores totalling 167.40 points on the board. Zane Hall and Rylee Ward lead the single-score group, following their round-winning efforts in Melbourne, with 88.00 points and 87.60 points, respectively.
Grand Finals Qualification
The 2026 PBR Australia Grand Finals are now officially less than 3 months away, and we can expect the race to qualify to intensify over the final nine regular-season tour stops.
Only the top 20 riders in the National Standings are guaranteed a spot to compete for the $150,000 in prizemoney on offer in Townsville on 13-14 November.
Caiden Sandilands holds the bubble spot on 317 points. Colby Edgar is ranked No. 14 on 374, and Dawson Foden is 24th on 237 points.
Even a handful of points earned through round and event placings can push a cowboy a long way towards qualification.
Bucking Bull of the Year Update
Last weekend, we saw Last Post (Dunne Bulls) make his sixth trip of the season, officially qualifying for the Bucking Bull of the Year title with another outstanding score of 43.80 points in just 1.4 seconds.
He moved into the No. 3 spot with an average of 43.51 points.
If Last Post can improve on his low mark of 42.30 points with another strong trip this weekend, he will move to within striking distance of Stetson Nirvana (Dittmann Bucking Bulls), who leads the pen with an average of 43.86 points.
Alpha Blokes Warden (MJ/Keliher Bucking Bulls) sits second on 43.58 points, and we will see the reigning champion also in action this weekend.
Adelaide will see six of the country's top seven bulls go head-to-head again on Saturday, so I think we can expect to see some more movement on the leaderboard.
Check back on Saturday for my Matchups to Watch, where I break down some of the most interesting matchups in the 2026 Monster Energy Adelaide Invitational draw.
View the full Event Schedule and Ticket Information for the 2026 PBR Australia season.
For the latest results, news and stats, stay tuned to PBRAustralia.com.au, follow the tour on Facebook (PBR Australia), Instagram (@PBRAustralia) and TikTok (@PBRAustralia), and subscribe to @ProBullRidersAust on YouTube for event replays and highlights.