It All Comes Down to This: 2026 Governor’s Cup Draw, Payout and More

Team ropers are headed to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, for the 2026 Governor’s Cup Sept. 25-27, where the $166,667-per-side purse has the chance to shake up the ProRodeo world standings and bubble race.

The top eight teams in the PRCA’s ProRodeo Playoff Series standings as of Sept. 21 qualify to rope in Sioux Falls, joined by the top four teams from the Puyallup, Washington, Cinch Playoffs—Puyallup co-champions Kaleb Driggers/Junior Nogueira and James Arviso/Levi Lord, plus Luke Brown/Hunter Koch and Garrett Tonozzi/Trey Yates. Tonozzi and Yates earned their way into Puyallup as the NFR Open reserve champions, then punched their Sioux Falls ticket by finishing fourth in the Puyallup final.

The field in Sioux Falls this year is, as expected, a mix of teams inside the top 15 of the world standings and guys fighting for their NFR lives on the bubble. World No. 1s Driggers and Nogueira are in, while the No. 2 team in the world, Korbin Rice/Cooper Freeman, did not qualify.

Sioux Falls Rundown

• Who Qualified for Sioux Falls in the Team Roping?Qualifying Teams’ World Standings
  • Qualifying Teams’ World Standings
• Governor’s Cup Team Roping DrawRound 1 (Friday, Sept. 25, 7:30 p.m.)Round 2 (Saturday, Sept. 26, 7:30 p.m.)
  • Round 1 (Friday, Sept. 25, 7:30 p.m.)
  • Round 2 (Saturday, Sept. 26, 7:30 p.m.)
• The Sioux Falls Format
• How Much Will the Governor’s Cup Pay in the Team Roping?

Who Qualified for Sioux Falls in the Team Roping?

• Jake Smith / Douglas Rich
• Dawson Graham / Dillon Graham
• Cory Kidd V / Carson Johnson
• Lightning Aguilera / Ross Ashford
• Cody Snow / Lane Mitchell
• Andrew Ward / Jake Long
• Tyler Tryan / Nicky Northcott
• Tanner Tomlinson / Coleby Payne
• Garrett Tonozzi / Trey Yates
• Luke Brown / Hunter Koch
• James Arviso / Levi Lord
• Kaleb Driggers / Junior Nogueira

• Why is Derrick Begay not at Sioux Falls??? Read more here
• Tonozzi, Yates Take the Circuit Route All the Way to Sioux Falls
• Pre-Sioux Falls Bubble Breakdown

Qualifying Teams’ World Standings

World standings as of Sept. 23, 2026.

Governor’s Cup Team Roping Draw

Round 1 (Friday, Sept. 25, 7:30 p.m.)

Round 2 (Saturday, Sept. 26, 7:30 p.m.)

The Sioux Falls Format

The 12 qualifying teams will compete across two rounds (Sept. 25-26) for a position in the final eight. The eight teams who advance will be based on the average. From the eight-team Semifinals on Sunday, Sept. 27 (2 p.m.), four teams will return to the final shootout, a clean-slate round that same performance, for a chance at the Governor’s Cup’s possible season-changing payday.

How Much Will the Governor’s Cup Pay in the Team Roping?

The Governor’s Cup has a $166,667 purse on each end, meaning a team could win up to $59,066.80 a man.

Long Rounds

Semifinals

1st-4th do not receive checks for qualifying to the Finals, but 5th-8th will still receive checks for making it to the semifinals.

Finals

View TRJ’s ProRodeo Hub