LAS VEGAS - His friends call him shy.
But everyone calls him a World Champion.
On Sunday afternoon, Silvano Alves covered twobulls to claim the PBR title just 18 months after arriving in theUnited States.
His 2011 season was a study in contrasts.
Alves won $93,875 in Las Vegas and $1,456,964.07 over the courseof the entire year. He and his fellow Brazilians dominated 2011,yet he went about claiming the World Championship quietly.
It wasn't about Built Ford Tough Series event wins -Robson Palermo and Validron deOliveira both won more than he did. Alves won in Anaheim,Calif., Springfield, Mo., and Columbus, Ohio, though.
It wasn't about spectacular 90-point rides: He had only two inthe regular season. His 92.25 points on Yellow JacketJr. in the Built Ford Tough Championship Round on Sundayafternoon was just his third.
He had no 90-point rides in 2010, but today's championship roundscore ranks among the Top 30 scores in the 18-year history of thePBR World Finals.
Alves is wearing a gold buckle and is $1 million richer simplybecause he rode more bulls than everyone else.
He's the only rider this year to record 100 outs, and he madethe whistle 69 times - 11 times more often than Oliveira. He wasthe only rider to finish the season ranked in the Top 5 whocompeted in all 29 regular-season events.
His 69-percent riding average was eight points better thanOliveira's, and a full 10 points better than that of Palermo, whowon the World Finals average for the second time in four years.
'This is a dream that every bull rider has.'
Alves relied on his overall consistency rather than flash.
His longest buckoff streak in 2011 was three. He's never buckedoff more than five in a row during his entire professionalcareer.
Only once this year did go 0-for-weekend in a regularlyformatted BFTS event.
"I'm really speechless," said a subdued Alves Sunday afternoon,smiling and staring at his gold buckle during a post-event pressconference. "I'm really pleased with the outcome, and for the restof the day I'm just going to celebrate."
Alves, 23, has dreamed of this day since he was a boy growing upin Pilar do Sul, Brazil.
Bull riding was a family tradition. His grandfather and fatherboth rode, and at 14 he competed in his first professional eventalongside his father. He finished second, and a year later he wonhis first event in Sao Paulo.
"This is a dream that every bull rider has," said Alves. "Imanaged to do this without becoming injured this year, which makesme very content with the outcome."
He took over the lead in the world standings coming out of thetwo-month summer break at an event in Thackerville, Okla., in July,and has been the No. 1 rider in the world for the past 10weeks.
Alves is the first rider to win a world title a season afterwinning PBR Rookie of the Year, and only the second former toprookie to claim the championship.
While his own goal is to win four titles, and while formerchampions Guilherme Marchi and RenatoNunes believe he'll win five or six, Alves is content withenjoying the one he has.
"I can't predict what will happen," he said, not willing tospeculate on the future.