ARLINGTON, Texas – Here are three things we learned from the WinStar World Casino & Resort Invitational, powered by Kawasaki, on Saturday night.
Marcilio takes home $26,000 ride score bonus
Alex Marcilio was shaking his head in disappointment in the initial moments following his 1.77-second buckoff against Gangster’s Wildside, which clinched Ramon de Lima the Iron Cowboy title and left Marcilio wondering what could have been.
Three-time World Champion Silvano Alves and Kaique Pacheco walked over to pat their compadre on the back, but nothing they said could help the immediate disappointment he felt.
However, Marcilio finally picked up his head and smiled when he was told he won a $26,000 bonus.
Marcilio asked for an explanation.
The 29-year-old’s 88.75-point ride on Night Sweats during Round 2 wound up being the high-marked ride of night for the $26,000 bonus.
“I am very happy because this is emotional for me,” Marcilio said with the help of Alves translating. “I have been staying in the middle of the 40s. To be one of the top two guys here is really good for me.”
Marcilio earned 125 points for the Round 2 victory and left AT&T Stadium with 185 points toward the world standings after finishing Round 1 in third place with 87.25 points on Chocolate Shake.
The 2017 Real Time Pain Relief Velocity Tour champion was ranked 42nd in the world standings prior to moving up to 24th on Saturday night.
The two rides are the best of his career on the premier series.
Marcilio (2.04 seconds on Carrot Top) and Lima (1.67 seconds on Medicine Man) both bucked off in Round 3 before Lima won the event in the fourth round aboard Wild Goose (86 points).
Not only did Marcilio also finish a career-best second overall, but he also walked away with a personal-high of $42,100.
“This is very emotional,” he concluded. “This money will help me a lot. This can help me in my dream of staying in the United States.”
Lima takes over world No. 1 ranking with Iron Cowboy crown
Lima became the first rider this season to win multiple events, and he sure picked a great one to win his second at.
Five weeks after earning 715 world points in Sacramento, California, Lima clinched the Iron Cowboy crown aboard Wild Goose to walk away as the new No. 1 bull rider in the world standings thanks to the 830 world points he earned in Arlington.
“That bull was kind of giving me a hard time in the chute,” Lima said with Paulo Crimber translating. “I kind of got tired in there and I had to really focus and concentrate. I just had to get a good shot on him and I knew he was a hard bull to ride. Thank God I got done with the work and I am looking forward to hunting that world title now.”
This is the first Lima has ever been ranked No. 1 in the world standings.
Lima started off his march to his first PBR Major victory by riding Yoga for 83 points in Round 1.
The 27-year-old was one of 13 riders – Castro, J.B. Mauney, Marcilio, Cody Teel, Valdiron de Oliveira, Dakota Buttar, Eduardo Aparecido, Ueberson Duarte, Emilio Resende, Joao Ricardo Vieira, Ramon de Lima, Silvano Alves and Colten Jesse – to advance out of Round 1.
Lima then joined Marcilio as the only two riders to advance into Round 3 with his 88-point ride on After Midnight.
After Midnight (13-0, PBR UTB) was never ridden before.
He shook off his buckoff against Medicine Man to take care of business against Wild Goose.
Lima explained that he tried to block out the over 40,000 people in attendance and bear down in the fourth round.
“We battle through that pressure a lot and we learn to use that to our own good,” Lima said. “You try to turn that into a lot of energy and hunger to ride. You try to make it a benefit.”
The second-year pro walked away with a career-high $127,350 for his 3-for-4 performance and leads previous world No. 1 Dener Barbosa by 220 points ahead of next weekend’s BadBoy Mowdown in North Little Rock, Arkansas.
Barbosa was bucked off by Red Bandana in 7.34 seconds.
SweetPro’s Bruiser and Pearl Harbor tie for top bull honors
The top two bulls in the 2017 World Champion Bull race, and the believed favorites in 2018, both rose to the occasion under the bright lights of AT&T Stadium.
Two-time World Champion Bull SweetPro’s Bruiser and Pearl Harbor both tied with 46-point bull scores in Round 2 for the YETI Built For the Wild Bull of the Event honors.
Bruiser had the best out of his season thus far by bucking off Resende in 5.39 seconds, while Pearl Harbor tied his season-high by dislodging Teel in 6.16 seconds.
“I don’t know what happened with me,” a discouraged Resende said. “I tried to ride him twice before. The first time 47. Today, he bucked for 46 and I don’t know. I like him. He is alright. He really bucks, but he is a special bull. It was not today for me.”
PBR Director of Livestock Cody Lambert said if he were to break the tie, he would have given the edge to Pearl Harbor.
“Pearl Harbor. He was just a little stronger,” Lambert said. “Bruiser was really, really good. They both could have been 46.75-47 points.”
Injury Updates
World No. 4 Luciano de Castro began the Iron Cowboy with quite the statement when he won Round 1 with an 88.25-point ride aboard Swamp Wreck.
However, Castro hit his head on the ground during his dismount and was ruled out of the competition by Dr. Tandy Freeman with a concussion.
Iron Cowboy Draw: Brazilian contingency returning in full force
2017 PBR World Finals event winner Jose Vitor Leme, 10-time PBR World Finals qualifier Valdiron de Oliveira, two-time Iron Cowboy champion Joao Ricardo Vieira, Music City Knockout Champion Fabiano Vieira and 2016 PBR World Champion Cooper Davis, who also has a PBR major victory on his resume, are all returning to competition after missing last weekend’s St. Louis Invitational.
The Winstar World Casino & Resort Iron Cowboy, powered by Kawasaki, is a single-elimination “ride or go home” format with riders advancing to the next round by making a qualified ride. Iron Cowboy is a minimum of two rounds and a maximum of five.
It has been the same format as Last Cowboy Standing since 2015 and the two PBR Majors have been dominated by Brazilian bull riders. Brazilians have won the last six Last Cowboy Standings and three of the last four Iron Cowboys.
This year’s Iron Cowboy will take home $100,000. One rider can walk away with a minimum of 625 world points to as many as 1,250 points if he wins every round and the event goes a full five rounds. There is also a $26,000 bonus to the rider who posts the single-highest scored ride at AT&T Stadium.
RELATED: Iron Cowboy Round 1 daysheet
All four returning Brazilians could be threats to take home the 2018 title.
Leme showed he was no stranger to the big stage last year by going 6-for-6 to win the PBR World Finals, but he is coming off a groin and lower back injury from attempting to ride Cochise in Kansas City, Missouri, and is 7-for-18 this season.
The 21-year-old has been rehabbing at Fit-N-Wise Rehabilitation and Performance Center in Decatur, Texas.
“Yes, I have not finished all the treatment, but I'm feeling much better,” Leme said via Miriaham Contreras. “I already feel like I can ride. Physiotherapists here work very well.”
Leme takes on Sketchy Bob (8-12, PBR UTB) in Round 1.
Meanwhile, Oliveira won the inaugural Iron Cowboy in 2012 when it was a bracket-style event and took home a record-setting $260,000.
Oliveira is back after missing St. Louis with a strained left groin and faces Element 79 (8-4, PBR UTB) in Round 1.
Joao Ricardo Vieira (sprained left riding hand) is a two-time winner in Arlington and has won over $350,000 at AT&T Stadium. He takes on Big Country (1-1, PBR UTB).
Fabiano Vieira returns following a week off with a sprained left knee. The 35-year-old faces Wired Child (22-7, PBR UTB).
No. 6 Davis is back after missing the past two weeks because of an on-going injury to the ring finger on his right riding hand. Davis is set to meet with hand-specialist, Dr. Bo Frederick in Dallas on Friday, but he expects to be ready to give it a go on Saturday in Arlington.
Davis is 1-for-8 since winning the Chicago Invitational and trails world leader Dener Barbosa by 635 points. Davis won’t have to wait long to test out his hand as he has drawn Wicked Stick (21-5, PBR UTB) for Round 1. Wicked Stick has bucked off Davis twice in less than 5 seconds at all levels.
According to the PBR’s Iron Cowboy ground rules, riders must take their re-rides at Iron Cowboy.
One rider can earn a maximum of 1,250 points toward the world standings. The 2017 Iron Cowboy will receive 625 of those points.
Iron Cowboy is a minimum of two rounds and a maximum of five. At least 10 riders will advance to Round 2, with any draw spots being filled by the current world standings heading into Iron Cowboy if there are less than 10 rides in Round 1.
If all riders buck off in Rounds 2, 3 or 4 then all riders that attempted a bull advance to the next round.
If there is more than one ride in the final round (Round 5), then the Iron Cowboy will be the rider with the highest-ride score in Round 5. If there are no rides in Round 5, then the Iron Cowboy will be the rider with the most round points that had competed in Round 5.
Dakota Buttar is back for Iron Cowboy following a bout with the flu last week. Buttar has drawn Foghat (0-0, PBR UTB).
Ryan Dirteater (fractured ribs) is still a few weeks away from returning, while Mason Lowe (arm), Gage Gay (reconstructive knee surgery), Matt Triplett (reconstructive shoulder surgery), Chase Outlaw (reconstructive shoulder surgery) and Shane Proctor (personal decision) are out.
There will be six alternate riders competing in Arlington – No. 37 Reese Cates, No. 40 Edgar Durazo, No. 41 Alex Marcilio, No. 41 Colten Jesse, No. 41 Ryan Miller and Jake Gowdy.
Gowdy, who is using one of his final two injury exemptions, and Miller are making their season debuts.
Gowdy hasn’t competed at a PBR event since last October after returning for one event following surgery to repair a torn groin.
The 20-year-old takes on Big Slick (5-1, PBR UTB) in Round 1.
Miller won the Real Time Pain Relief Velocity Tour event last weekend in Knoxville, Tennessee, to earn an alternate spot at Iron Cowboy and a matchup against Bad Moon Rising (209, PBR UTB). The 29-year-old is 34-for-122 (27.87 percent) in his PBR career at all levels of competition, including 4-for-9 in 2018.
Cates has been heating up in recent weeks with back-to-back, second-place finishes on the Real Time Pain Relief Velocity Tour. The 2008 Rookie of the Year is 5-for-7 in February and recently talked about the ups and downs of his career with Craig Hummer on RidePass’s “In Color.”
He has drawn A.J. (4-0, PBR UTB) for Round 1 and is only 22.5 points behind No. 35 Ueberson Duarte in the world standings.
Silvano Alves, who is 30 points out of the Top 35, is down to his last exemption based upon his 11th-place finish in the 2017 world standings, but if he fails to crack the Top 35 at Iron Cowboy he would then have 10 World Champion exemptions at his disposal before facing relegation to the Velocity Tour.
Rubens Barbosa is 25 points behind Duarte and has one more guaranteed event, and Stormy Wing has four more cracks to get back inside the Top 35.