SYRACUSE, N.Y. – In front of a sold-out crowd on Saturday night inside The Oncenter War Memorial Arena, Junior Patrick Souza (Sonoroa, Brail) used a flawless 3-for-3 performance across the two-day event to capture the first PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event win of his career at the Syracuse Showdown.

On the event’s opening night, Souza recorded the eighth best score of Round 1, reaching the 8 aboard Southern Twist (Kruger Bucking Bulls) for 73 points.

Determined to win the first-ever Velocity Tour event in Syracuse, Souza remained in the hunt in Round 2 after riding Rough & Ready (Kruger Bucking Bulls) for 81 points.

Souza sealed the victory when he became the lone rider to cover all three of his draws, marked 86.5 points aboard Plum Crazy (Cornwell Bucking Bulls/Circle G) in the championship round.

The perfect performance earned Souza a check for $5,400 in addition to 170 world points.

Ranked No. 149 in the world at the start of the event, Souza skyrocketed to No. 76 compliments of the victory. He now trails the Top 35 by 432.5 points.

Souza also earned an invite to compete on the elite PBR Unleash The Beast in Minneapolis, Minnesota, on October 4-5.

Dustin Ratchford (Wynnewood, Oklahoma) and Ouncie Mitchell (Fresno, Texas) tied for second, each earning 122.5 world points.

Ratchford rebounded from a Round 1 buckoff with a Round 2-winning, 87.5-point ride aboard Twinkle Toes (Kruger Bucking Bulls).

Continuing the momentum, the Oklahoman then rode Mr. Blue (Mike Miller Bucking Bulls) for 86.5 points in the final round.

The runner-up effort, which also earned Ratchford a check for $4,100, propelled him from No. 152 to No. 90 in the world standings.

For Mitchell, his second-place finish was backed by two round-winning scores. After recording the top marks in Round 1, an 86-point ride on Tropic Thunder (Kruger Bucking Bulls), the Texan then recorded the high-marked ride of the event in the championship round with an 88-point ride on Bandit (Mike Miller Bucking Bulls).

Surging from No. 63 to No. 47 in the world rankings, Mitchell is now a mere 261.67 points outside of the Top 35.

He also left the two-day event with a check for $4,400.

Alex Marcilio (Macaubal, Brazil) was fourth, earning $1,900 and 25 world points to climb from No. 77 to No. 71 in the world.

His 8-second efforts were earned aboard Borracho (Mike Miller Bucking Bulls) for 84 points in Round 1, and Big Gulp (J Bar W) for 84.5 points in the second round.

Rounding out the Top 5 was Lindomar Lino (Anapolis, Brazil).

His matching 83.5-point scores aboard Neon Ghost (Cornwell Bucking Bulls) and Area 51 (J Bar W) in the opening two rounds propelled him to an $840 payday, in addition to earning him 15 world points.

Losing My Religion (Kruger Bucking Bulls), Rough & Ready (Kruger Bucking Bulls) and Mud Duck (Cornwell Bucking Bulls/Circle G) tied for the high-marked bull of the event after each recorded a 44.5-point bull score.

Both out in Round 1, Losing My Religion bested Bryan Titman (East Bernard, Texas) in 5.17 seconds, while Rough & Ready had Wallace Vieira de Oliveria (Goiania, Brazil) down in 3.18 seconds. Mud Duck recorded the top marks in the championship round when he bested Marcilio in 5.35 seconds.

Fans can relive all the action from the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s Syracuse Showdown on Sunday, September 22, at 8:00 a.m. EDT on RidePass.com or via the RidePass mobile app.

PBR’s Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour next travels to Portland, Maine, on Sept. 27-28 with the Portland Chute Out inside Cross Insurance Arena. Action gets underway at 8:00 p.m. EDT on Friday, September 27, and 7:00 p.m. EDT on Saturday, September 28.

PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour
Syracuse Showdown
The Oncenter War Memorial Arena – Syracuse, New York
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Junior Patrick Souza, 73-81-86.5-240.50-170 Points.
2. Ouncie Mitchell, 86-0-88-174.00-122.5 Points.
(tie). Dustin Ratchford, 0-87.5-86.5-174.00-122.5 Points.
4. Alex Marcilio, 84-84.5-0-168.50-25 Points.
5. Lindomar Lino, 83.5-83.5-0-167.00-15 Points.
6. Ramon de Lima, 0-84.5-82-166.50-15 Points.
7. Skeeter Kingsolver, 80.5-84-0-164.50-5 Points.
8. Dakota Louis, 85.5-0-70-155.50-25 Points.
9. Elijah Lankford, 0-86-0-86.00-25 Points.
10. Jake Goodson, 84.5-0-0-84.50-10 Points.
11. Lucas Fideles Souza, 0-84-0-84.00
(tie). Nathan Burtenshaw, 0-84-0-84.00
13. Ricky Aguiar, 0-83.5-0-83.50
14. Carlos Garcia, 0-83-0-83.00
15. Allen Burkholder, 82-0-0-82.00
(tie). Eduardo de Oliveira, 0-82-0-82.00
(tie). Eli Byler, 0-82-0-82.00
18. Eli Miller, 0-81-0-81.00
Marcus Mast, 0-0-0-0.00
Bryan Titman, 0-0-0-0.00
Kache Moosman, 0-0-0-0.00
Luis Blanco, 0-0-0-0.00
Devon Weaver, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Rodeo Tyler, 0-0-0-0.00
Lachlan Slade, 0-0-0-0.00
Andrew Alvidrez, 0-0-0-0.00
Justin Granger, 0-0-0-0.00
Tye Chandler, 0-0-0-0.00
Wallace Vieira de Oliveira, 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Jenks, 0-0-0-0.00
Zac Harris, 0-0-0-0.00
Brandon Chambers, 0-0-0-0.00
Joe Hostetler, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Dollins, 0-0-0-0.00
J.T. Pettitt, 0-0-0-0.00
Tristen Marshall, 0-0-0-0.00
Lamar Lehman, 0-0-0-0.00
Paul Knight, 0-0-0-0.00
Colten Brown, 0-0-0-0.00