(Editor's note: PBR release)
NEW YORK— While Kyler Oliver (Roy, Utah) was admittedly nervous heading into the first Professional Bull Riders Unleash The Beast Major of the 2022 campaign, on Saturday night he coolly knocked down the highest marked ride of the young season capping a flawless 3-for-3 performance.
The effort propelled the 22-year-old to his first elite tour event win at the PBR Monster Energy Buckoff at The Garden.
Compliments of the golden finish, Oliver surged to the world No. 1 ranking for the first time in his young career.
“I was really nervous coming into such a big-time event,” Oliver said from the dirt moments after his win. “I tried to keep myself calm and focused on just riding my bulls. Growing up, all my heroes were cowboys and bull riders. I just want to carry on the tradition. It’s a love of mine to just be a cowboy.”
Oliver began Championship Saturday deep down the event leaderboard after finishing 20th in Round 1 courtesy of his 83-point ride on Zero Time (Paradigm Bull Co.).
Undaunted, Oliver was electric in Round 2, winning the round when he outlasted Outlaw (Cord McCoy/Big Sky Bulls, LLC) for 89.75 points.
With the fourth pick in the championship round bull draft, the Utah native elected to go head-to-head with Bentley (Viducic Bucking Bulls) as his final bovine athlete opponent.
Oliver then capped his first-ever outing inside the World’s Most Famous Arena with the high-marked ride to date of 2022, making the requisite 8 for a monstrous 91 points, staying with a wildly bucking Bentley after the bull had changed directions five seconds into the ride.
For his efforts, Oliver collected a check for $83,733.33 along with a crucial 235 world points. Suring to the No. 1 rank for the first time in his career, he now leads No. 2 Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil) by 81 points.
Vieira, the defending New York City event winner, made his 2022 season debut in New York City, going a perfect 3-for-3 to finish second.
The stoic veteran of the sport reached the championship round after covering Just Denim (Mike Miller Bucking Bulls) and Peep Show (Cornwell Bucking Bulls) for 85.5 points each in Round 1 and Round 2, respectively.
In the final round, Vieira brought the raucous Saturday night crowd to its feet when he covered Marquis Metal Works Red Clark (Paradigm Bull Co./Wentz) for 90.5 points. Vieira is now just the second rider to have ever covered the striking bull, joining the likes of Dener Barbosa (Paulo de Faria, Brazil) who has covered the animal athlete twice prior.
Vieira netted $36,033.33 and 139 points, surging from No. 13 to No. 2 in the standings as he seeks his career first gold buckle in 2022.
Alex Cardozo (Indaiatuba, Brazil) was third in the Big Apple, marking his best finish ever on the elite Unleash The Beast.
In Round 1, Cardozo put points on the board when he tied for 11th via his 86-point ride atop Total Feeds Bushwacked (Ohl/Herb/McDowell/Comozzi). Continuing his momentum, Cardozo again fired from the chutes in Round 2, this time besting Canadian-born Vertigo Spy (Vold/Hart Cattle Co.) for 85 points.
Cardozo then elected to climb aboard War Dress (Jane Clark/Gene Owen) in the championship round. In a decision that proved dividends, Cardozo narrowly made the 8 seconds, and a thorough review confirmed his qualified ride and an 87.25-point score.
The 31-year-old’s bronze finish earned him $19,833.33 along with 106.5 world points. Unranked at the start of the PBR Major, Cardozo catapulted to the No. 5 rank in the world standings. He now trails No. 1 Oliver by 143.5 points.
Fourth was Andrew Alvidrez (Seminole, Texas).
Alvidrez led the event entering the championship round after he finished third in Round 1 via his 88.25-point ride on Young Man’s Blues (Paradigm/Parker McCollum/Lockwood) and eighth in Round 2 compliments of his 87.25-point score atop Zorro (Jane Clark/Gene Owen).
The Texan, however, proved no match for Moonlight Party (Jane Clark/Gene Owen) in the championship round, and he was denied his first event win when he was bucked off by the fierce bull in 5.08 seconds.
Alvidrez left Madison Square Garden $13,600 richer, having also earned 76 world points. Cracking the world’s Top 10, he is now No. 8 in the standings, 174 points removed from the top spot.
Rounding out the Top 5 in fifth was young gun Austin Richardson (Dallas, Texas).
Going 2-for-3, Richardson earned his qualified rides in Round 1 and Round 2, making the 8 aboard Ranch Water (Paradigm Bull Co./D'Anna & Lance Waller) for 87 points and Facetious (Paradigm Bull Company) for 88 points, respectively.
Richardson returns to Texas having collected 73 world points and is now ranked No. 9 in the world.
In the bull pen, Mezcal (Paradigm Bull Company) was dominant. Remaining unridden, Mezcal earned the YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the Event honor after earning an unmatched 46.25-point score for his 3.7-second buckoff of Dalton Kasel (Muleshoe, Texas) in the championship round.
The PBR Unleash The Beast next travels to Allstate Arena in Chicago, Illinois, for the PBR Tractor Supply Co. Invitational. The event will be on Friday, January 14 at 7:45 p.m. CST and Saturday, January 15 at 6:45 p.m. CST.
PBR Unleash The BeastPBR Monster Energy Buckoff at The Garden, presented by AriatMadison Square Garden – New York City, New YorkEvent Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Kyler Oliver, 83-89.75-91-263.75-235 Points.
2. João Ricardo Vieira, 85.5-85.5-90.5-261.50-139 Points.
3. Alex Cardozo, 86-85-87.25-258.25-106.5 Points.
4. Andrew Alvidrez, 88.25-87.25-0-175.50-76 Points.
5. Austin Richardson, 87-88-0-175.00-73 Points.
6. Cannon Cravens, 87.75-85.25-0-173.00-53.5 Points.
7. Dalton Kasel, 85-85.75-0-170.75-33 Points.
8. Adriano Salgado, 84-83.5-0-167.50-24 Points.
9. Manoelito de Souza Junior, 84-83.25-0-167.25-23 Points.
10. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 78.75-87-0-165.75-19 Points.
11. Cooper Davis, 90-0-0-90.00-44 Points.
12. Mason Taylor, 89.5-0-0-89.50-32 Points.
13. Eduardo Aparecido, 0-89-0-89.00-28 Points.
14. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-87.75-0-87.75-19.5 Points.
(tie). Cole Melancon, 87.75-0-0-87.75-19.5 Points.
(tie). Conner Halverson, 0-87.75-0-87.75-19.5 Points.
17. Daylon Swearingen, 0-87.5-0-87.50-16.5 Points.
(tie). Jess Lockwood, 0-87.5-0-87.50-16.5 Points.
19. Chase Outlaw, 86.75-0-0-86.75-15 Points.
(tie). Eli Vastbinder, 86.75-0-0-86.75-15 Points.
21. Claudio Montanha Jr., 86.25-0-0-86.25-12 Points.
(tie). Chase Dougherty, 0-86.25-0-86.25-11 Points.
(tie). Boudreaux Campbell, 86.25-0-0-86.25-12 Points.
24. Stetson Lawrence, 0-86-0-86.00-9 Points.
(tie). Silvano Alves, 86-0-0-86.00-9.5 Points.
(tie). Cody Teel, 0-86-0-86.00-9 Points.
(tie). Tye Chandler, 0-86-0-86.00-9 Points.
28. Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 85.75-0-0-85.75-8 Points.
29. Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 85-0-0-85.00-8 Points.
30. Ezekiel Mitchell, 84.25-0-0-84.25-8 Points.
31. Dener Barbosa, 0-81-0-81.00
32. Fernando Henrique Novais, 79-0-0-79.00-7 Points.
Cody Jesus, 0-0-0-0.00
Jesse Petri, 0-0-0-0.00
Paulo Ferreira Lima, 0-0-0-0.00
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0.00
Marco Eguchi, 0-0-0-0.00
João Henrique Lucas, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Nance, 0-0-0-0.00
Taylor Toves, 0-0-0-0.00
2022 PBR World Standings
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5's, Points, Total Winnings)
1. Kyler Oliver, 4, 2, 2, 250.00, $89,373.61
2. João Ricardo Vieira, 2, 1, 2, 169.00, $37,808.95
3. Mason Taylor, 2, 1, 1, 159.00, $57,262.50
4. Daylon Swearingen, 5, 2, 3, 125.16, $38,843.05
5. Alex Cardozo, 1, 0, 1, 106.50, $19,833.33
6. Dener Barbosa, 3, 0, 1, 93.00, $26,049.83
7. Dalton Kasel, 2, 0, 1, 88.00, $15,846.00
8. Andrew Alvidrez, 1, 0, 1, 76.00, $13,600.00
9. Austin Richardson, 2, 0, 1, 73.00, $9,300.00
10. Sam Woodall, 4, 1, 2, 66.00, $9,823.02
11. Cannon Cravens, 2, 0, 0, 56.50, $5,700.00
12. Manoelito de Souza Junior, 5, 1, 2, 54.50, $8,744.63
13. Brady Fielder, 4, 0, 3, 54.00, $9,682.44
14. Chase Outlaw, 2, 0, 1, 48.00, $5,700.00
15. Aaron Kleier, 3, 1, 3, 45.50, $26,806.31
16. Cooper Davis, 2, 0, 0, 44.00, $7,000.00
17. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 2, 0, 0, 41.16, $4,370.00
17. Cole Melancon, 2, 0, 0, 41.16, $4,370.00
19. Cody Jesus, 4, 0, 1, 40.00, $8,015.00
20. Todd Chotowetz, 1, 0, 1, 38.00, $20,042.90
21. Claudio Montanha Jr., 3, 0, 0, 35.66, $4,270.00
22. Cody Coverchuk, 2, 0, 2, 30.50, $54,748.11
23. Eduardo Aparecido, 2, 0, 0, 28.00, $4,300.00
23. Leonardo Lima, 2, 0, 1, 28.00, $4,083.33
25. Stetson Lawrence, 3, 0, 0, 25.00, $1,500.00
26. Adriano Salgado, 3, 0, 0, 24.00, $2,000.00
27. Jesse Petri, 3, 0, 1, 23.50, $4,100.00
28. Cole Skender, 6, 1, 4, 23.16, $11,133.31
29. Kurt Shephard, 4, 1, 2, 23.00, $5,370.24
30. Lawson Nobbs, 3, 0, 1, 21.00, $4,179.38
31. Lachlan Richardson, 3, 0, 1, 20.50, $3,729.98
32. Zane Lambert, 1, 0, 1, 20.00, $9,212.27
32. Bruno Scaranello, 1, 0, 1, 20.00, $1,303.38
34. Conner Halverson, 3, 0, 0, 19.50, $1,600.00
35. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 4, 0, 0, 19.00, $2,137.55
36. Silvano Alves, 2, 0, 0, 17.50, $0.00
37. Micheal Ostashek, 4, 0, 3, 17.00, $5,338.16
38. Jess Lockwood, 2, 0, 0, 16.50, $750.00
38. Deklan Garland, 1, 0, 1, 16.50, $3,750.00
40. Dalton Rudman, 5, 1, 1, 16.25, $5,046.35
41. Jake Curr, 1, 0, 1, 16.00, $1,960.72
42. Eli Vastbinder, 2, 0, 0, 15.00, $600.00
42. Tim Lipsett, 4, 0, 2, 15.00, $6,643.46
42. Beau Willis, 4, 1, 1, 15.00, $4,998.11
45. Blake Smith, 4, 1, 2, 14.00, $4,173.09
