(Editor's note: PBR release)
SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – On an afternoon where the Brazilian riders of the PBR swept the Top 5 and the world’s two top-ranked riders faltered, 2018 PBR World Champion Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil) went 3-for-3 winning the First PREMIER Bank PREMIER Bankcard Invitational in Sioux Falls.
Pacheco shot from No. 11 in the world to No. 6, with Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil) maintaining his world No. 1 ranking despite being shut out in Sioux Falls. The surging former World Champion is now 326.5 points behind Vieira ahead of the 2022 PBR World Finals beginning on May 13 in Fort Worth, Texas.
As Sunday began, Pacheco, who had conquered Sugar Boom Boom (Cornwell Bucking Bulls/Circle G) for 86 points on Friday, was paired with Marciano (Hookin W Ranch) for Round 2.
He fired out of the chutes for 87 points to punch his ticket into the championship round.
Selecting Crystal Fox (Hart Cattle Co/Diggers Bucking Bulls) as his opponent for the final round of the weekend, the steadfast Brazilian stood on the back of the chutes with his trademark stoic expression, concentrating on the task ahead.
Pacheco then had the South Dakota crowd at full volume as he was in complete control, delivering a technically sound ride to clinch the 20th premier series win of his career.
While one other rider, Lucas Divino (Nova Crixas, Brazil), went 3-for-3 on the weekend, Pacheco edged him by 18.25 points and emerged victorious with an aggregate score of 262 points. He collected 142 world points and a check for $50,396.67.
For video highlights of Round 2 and the championship round, including Pacheco’s winning ride, courtesy PBR, click here. [ftp.pbr.com]
Divino, the only other cowboy to ride all three of his bulls in South Dakota, finished second to earn $24,380 and 83 world points. He rocketed to the No. 22 spot in the world standings after coming into the weekend at No. 46.
Early on Sunday afternoon, Divino was paired with Sun Dog (Clay Struve/ Dakota Rodeo/ Chad Berger) for Round 2. His 81.5-point score paved his way to the championship round.
The 28-year-old Brazilian then chose Prince Harry (Cooper/Scruggs Bucking Bulls) in the championship round, earning a low 76.75 points.
While Divino was offered a re-ride by judges who flagged a technical error as the reason for his lower score, he declined, keeping a score that turned into a runner-up finish.
Eduardo Aparecido (Gouvelandia, Brazil), who could have won the event had he recorded a qualified ride in the championship round, claimed third place.
Earlier in the day, Aparecido was paired with Catfish (Viducic Bucing Bulls/ Stetson Wright/ Wyatt Bridge) in Round 2, collecting an 86.75-point score and greenlighting his ticket into the championship round.
The 31-year-old then chose JuJu (Tommy Julian/ D&H Cattle) for the final round but was dispatched quickly in a mere 2.1 seconds.
Aparecido collected 68.5 world points and $13,055 for his 2-for-3 performance, moving him from No. 12 in the world standings as the weekend began to No. 10 as Sunday rolled to an end.
Paired with Nature Boy (D&H Cattle) in Round 2, Alex Marcilio (Macaubal, Brazil) launched from the chutes to collect an 87-point score.
Marcilio then selected Bread Basket (TNT Bucking Bulls/ Hart Cattle Co) for the championship round knowing he needed to catapult himself up the leaderboard. Coming down hard after 2.57 seconds, Marcilio relied on his Top-5 finish after the first two rounds to collect a fourth-place finish for the weekend.
He now holds the No. 41 spot in the world standings after starting the weekend at No. 66.
For his efforts, he collected 57.5 world points and a check for $10,449.67 for his 2-for-3 weekend.
Alisson De Souza (Taubate, Brazil) rounded out the Top 5 of the weekend, also with a 2-for-3 performance.
Souza was paired with Bentley (Viducic Bucking Bulls/ Wyatt Bridge) in Round 2, recording 76.5 points. In the championship round, his selection of Moonlight Party (Jane Clark/Gene Owen) had the crowd cheering, but he came crashing down after 4.21 seconds.
Despite the short round buckoff, the Brazilian cowboy earned 35 world points to move from No. 82 in the world standings to No. 55.
World leader Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil) had a rocky weekend, going 0-for-2 and not qualifying for the championship round. However, he still held tight to his No. 1 spot in the world standings, maintaining a 96.34-point lead on No. 2 Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York) in the world title race.
Local fan favorite Matt Triplett’s (Canton, South Dakota) weekend ended early on Sunday after being bested by Wooden Nickels (Bierema Rodeo Inc.), which meant he did not advance to the championship round.
Following an electric weekend in Albuquerque, New Mexico, when Dalton Kasel (Muleshoe, Texas) entered the PBR record books by winning both of the weekend’s special 15/15 rounds in a single weekend, the 2019 Rookie of the Year’s hot streak continued as he split the Sioux Falls 15/15 Bucking Battle win with Kyler Oliver (Roy, Utah).
As the only two men to record qualified rides in the special round, Kasel’s pairing with HomeBru (D&H Cattle Co./ Buck Cattle Co.) and Oliver’s matchup with Chiseled (Flinn/D&H Cattle Co) resulted in matching 91.25-point rides.
Both riders collected 54 world points and $10,500.
Kasel who began the weekend at No. 7 in the world standings, held tight to that as he leaves South Dakota.
Oliver, who hit the dirt hard after his matchup with Chiseled and was unable to compete on Sunday, moved from No. 4 to No. 3 in the world standings
Reigning PBR World Champion Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil) had a swift end to his weekend in Sioux Falls after a brutal wreck in the 15/15 Bucking Battle on Saturday night. As the clock raced toward eight seconds, JAG Metals Grand Theft (D&H Cattle Co./ Phillip Elkins) slammed the two-time World Champion onto the ground at 7.13 seconds. Leme suffered a concussion and facial lacerations and was out for the remainder of the weekend.
Dennis The Menace (Viducic Bucking Bulle/ White Trash Buckers) earned the YETI “Built for The Wild” Bull of the Event title after his matchup with Mason Taylor (Maypearl, Texas). The dynamic animal athlete was marked 46.25 points after launching Taylor to the dirt in 3.08 seconds.
PBR RidePass on Pluto TV will offer re-airs and on-demand replays of every PBR Unleash The Beast event. PBR RidePass is available on desktops, laptops and mobile devices via www.pluto.tv [pluto.tv]. Tune to channel 720 for the latest programming schedule.
The PBR Unleash The Beast next travels to Everett, Washington, and Angel of the Winds Arena for the PBR Everett Invitational on Wednesday, April 8 at 7:45 p.m. PDT, followed by a three-day weekend in Tacoma, Washington, for the PBR Wrangler Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, April 8-10 at the Tacoma Dome.
Elsewhere in the PBR, on the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour, in front of a raucous crowd at the Ford Wyoming Center in Casper on Saturday evening, 2018 PBR Rookie of the Year Keyshawn Whitehorse (McCracken Springs, Utah) delivered a perfect 2-for-2 performance to win the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s Casper Invitational.
Whitehorse was quick to strike in Round 1, delivering the fourth-best score when he covered Light It Up (Nothin’ But Try Ranch/Kinser/McCall) for 85.5 points.
In the championship round, Kenny (H&D Bucking Bulls/Dickie Williams/Phillips) then awaited the Navajo bull rider, who matched the animal athlete jump-for-jump en route to an 88.5-point score, clinching the event win.
Whitehorse earned a much-needed 35.5 world points and gained 10 positions in the world standings, propelling him from No. 39 to 29.
PBR Unleash The Beast - PBR First PREMIER Bank PREMIER Bankcard Invitational
Denny Sanford PREMIER Center -Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Kaique Pacheco, 0-86-87-89-262.00-142 Points.
2. Lucas Divino, 0-85.5-81.5-76.75-243.75-83 Points.
3. Eduardo Aparecido, 0-87.75-86.75-0-174.50-68.5 Points.
4. Alex Marcilio, 0-86.75-87-0-173.75-57.5 Points.
5. Alisson De Souza, 0-84.25-76.5-0-160.75-35 Points.
6. Chase Dougherty, 0-89.25-0-0-89.25-40 Points.
7. Austin Richardson, 0-88-0-0-88.00-24 Points.
8. Luciano De Castro, 0-0-87-0-87.00-26 Points.
9. Derek Kolbaba, 0-86.75-0-0-86.75-18.5 Points.
(tie). Bob Mitchell, 0-0-86.75-0-86.75-18.5 Points.
11. Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-0-86.5-0-86.50-15 Points.
12. Adriano Salgado, 0-86.25-0-0-86.25-14 Points.
13. Mason Taylor, 0-0-85.75-0-85.75-13 Points.
(tie). Dalton Rudman, 0-85.75-0-0-85.75-12 Points.
15. Dalton Kasel, 0-85.25-0-0-85.25-9.5 Points.
(tie). Dakota Louis, 0-85.25-0-0-85.25-9.5 Points.
17. Cladson Rodolfo, 0-83.5-0-0-83.50-8 Points.
18. Tye Chandler, 0-81.25-0-0-81.25-8 Points.
19. Brady Oleson, 0-64.75-0-0-64.75
João Ricardo Vieira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Daylon Swearingen, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Kyler Oliver, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Jose Vitor Leme, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Dener Barbosa, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Eli Vastbinder, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Manoelito de Souza Junior, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Marco Eguchi, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Teel, 0-0-0-0-0.00
João Henrique Lucas, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Matt Triplett, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Brady Fielder, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Clayton Sellars, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Andrew Alvidrez, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ramon de Lima, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Alex Cardozo, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Casey Coulter, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Sam Woodall, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Lane Nobles, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Conner Halverson, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Brandon Davis, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Marcos Gloria, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Paulo Ferreira Lima, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Dawson Branton, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Jesse Petri, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Fernando Henrique Novais, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Griffin Smeltzer, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Trace Brown, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Blake Smith, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Hunter Ball, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Eagleburger, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Venn Johns, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Elijah Mora, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Coverchuk, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Patterson Starcher, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Leonardo Lima, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Thor Hoefer II, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Daniel Keeping, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Caden Bunch, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Kade Alberty, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Casey Roberts, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Colten Fritzlan, 0-0-0-0-0.00
