A very common question lately has been about the possibility of him becoming a world champion in advance, before the World Finals, due to his lead in the rankings. It’s worth noting that in the entire history of the PBR, only two competitors have clinched the world title in advance, before the World Finals.
Firstly, it’s important to highlight that the 2024 World Finals will have a new format and will be divided into two phases. A “playoff” or semifinal in Fort Worth, with 556.00 points available, and a Final event over two days in Arlington with an additional 756.00 points up for grabs.
Therefore, to become the world champion before the “Final Phase,” Cássio Dias would need to open up a lead of 1312.00 points. Currently, he already holds a lead of 415.50 points over the second-placed competitor, with five more stages remaining before the Finals, offering 933.00 points in total.
In summary, he would need to increase this lead to 1312.00 points in the next five stages, meaning he would need to gain an additional 896.50 points. For this to happen, the leader would have to win all rounds of the next five stages, assuming that John Crimber and Dalton Kasel do not score any more points, which is unlikely to happen.
Answering the question: before the Finals, although there are still mathematical possibilities, in practice, there are no more chances of an early title. The only possible scenario is for Cássio Dias to secure the world title in the Playoffs in Fort Worth, as this semifinal event will offer many points. But this depends on the scores he and his competitors achieve in the next five stages and in the semifinal event itself. It’s still too early to dwell on this projection as there are many possible scenarios.
In conclusion, the world championship will not be decided before May 11th or 12th. And even then, for it to be decided in the “first week of the Finals” (in the Playoffs) depends on an almost improbable scenario, given that the phase played in Arlington will still have many points at stake.
