Leme and Lockwood bringing 2017 predictions to fruition
The 2017 World Champion and Rookie of the Year will go head-to-head in Las Vegas to determine the 2019 PBR World Champion.
By Justin Felisko
LAS VEGAS – The two superstars of the 2017 PBR World Finals stood next to each other on the rainbow confetti-covered stage inside T-Mobile Arena on November 5, 2017, with the sparkling World Championship trophy standing behind them.
Jess Lockwood was still dabbing his eyes as he recovered from the emotional toll of becoming the PBR’s youngest World Champion at 20 years old.
To his left stood an unknown bull riding sensation named Jose Vitor Leme. The 21-year-old’s best way to communicate just how life-changing his 6-for-6 World Finals event victory was without a translator was an ear-to-ear grin and a broken English “thank you.”
It was one of the best days of their lives as they posed for a photo holding their giant award presentation checks and prestigious belt buckles.
The two youngsters had met only 10 days earlier when Leme made his North American debut at the 2017 Velocity Tour Finals and Lockwood was beginning his last-minute rally for the World Championship after arriving at the South Point Hotel Casino & Spa at No. 6 in the world standings.
Lockwood and Leme – the 2017 PBR Brazil champion – had spoken pleasantries to each other as best they could, but the communication barrier between an American kid from rural Montana and the former semi-pro soccer player from Ribas Do Rio Pardo, Brazil, made it tough.
Regardless, their otherworldly bull riding ability connected them during that week and a half in Las Vegas, and it was the prodigies’ potential that the majority of PBR experts witnessed during those six rounds at the 2017 PBR World Finals that had them thinking 2017 was only the beginning.
These two seemed poised to be on a crash course to a World Championship battle in the future. They seemed likely to be tied at the hip for this era’s next clash of champions.
“You could look at those two little guys and not have much trouble believing that those two are great in their own right,” two-time World Champion and CBS Sports Network analyst Justin McBride said this week.
Much can change, though, especially in bull riding.
Injuries, money, fame and life can prevent expectations from coming to fruition.
Just last year, Lockwood had to shut down the second half of his season, and pursuit of defending his gold buckle, because of a torn right groin.
Meanwhile, Leme continued his march to stardom and world title contention in 2018, ultimately finishing runner-up to World Champion Kaique Pacheco and 422.5 points short of a $1 million bonus.
Leme is 88-for-163 (53.99%) with 16 90-point rides, five event wins and three 15/15 Bucking Battle victories in 50 premier series events since winning the 2017 PBR World Finals. He is the No. 1 bull rider in the world.
Lockwood is 60-for-113 (53.09%) with 12 90-point rides, five event wins and five 15/15 Bucking Battle victories in 35 events since claiming the 2017 World Championship. He is No. 2 in the world.
The future predicted by bull riding fortunetellers two years ago has now become reality.
The top two bull riders in the world head into Las Vegas this weekend for the 2019 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals and 2019 PBR World Finals separated by only 496.66 points in the standings.
“These two have really both stepped their game up,” McBride said. “They are going after every rank bull because they know they have to beat the other guy. They are not laying up, hoping the other guy won’t stay on. They are trying to beat them on the scoreboard, and that creates some pretty special stuff.”
Leme will continue his pursuit of his first gold buckle Saturday night at 10 p.m. ET (RidePass) at the South Point Arena with Lockwood hot on his heels.
A second world title would make Lockwood the sixth rider in PBR history to win multiple world titles.
Leme has drawn Little Joe (2-0, all levels) while Lockwood faces Hammered Down (1-0, all levels).
The Velocity Tour Finals can possibly affect the world title race in a multitude of ways. As mentioned earlier, Lockwood picked up 227.5 points at the 2017 Velocity Finals. He would go on to overcome a 655-point deficit to win the world title.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, world No. 1 Kaique Pacheco tore ligaments in his knee last year, which almost prevented him from winning the 2018 world title.
One rider can earn a maximum of 440 points toward the world standings at the Velocity Tour Finals this weekend.
No. 3 Chase Outlaw (-1,495.83 points) is the only other rider mathematically alive in the world title race competing this weekend at the Velocity Tour Finals. He is slated to face Yatesy Down Under (1-3) in Round 1.
Nowadays, Leme and Lockwood are well aware of who the other is after standing next to each other on that T-Mobile Arena stage two years ago.
Friendship aside, only one can leave Las Vegas with the $1 million PBR World Championship.
There are still nine rounds of bull riding left before a World Champion is crowned on Nov. 10, and you can expect the two superstars to continue to throw haymakers and counter punches every step of the way.
“Jose is a little competitor,” McBride said. “That has made Jess have to be better. Jess has made Jose have to be better. I am really happy for both of them on that front. That is pretty cool.”
