PUEBLO, Colo. – After watching the 2019 PBR World Championship come down to the wire at the 2019 PBR World Finals, Alan de Souza likely knew anything was possible this past weekend.
Regardless, it was going to take a remarkable come-from-behind performance, as well as a little help along the way, for Souza to win the 2019 PBR Brazil championship at Nilson Nelson Gymnasium in Brasilia, Brazil.
Souza, though, got all of the above and some more.
The 2019 PBR Brazil champion capped his 3-for-3 performance by riding Reza a Lenda for a career-best 92 points in the championship round and then got the help he needed from his competitors.
Souza had to sit back after his sensational ride to see if his event lead would hold. He needed to win the PBR Brazil Finals to win the championship, but there were still four riders left to go in the championship round.
First, Amadeu Campos Silva rode Energetic for 89 points, but it was not enough to pass Souza in the event standings.
Mauricio Gula Moreira (1.78 seconds on Cockfight) and Roberto Carlos Vieira Junior (4.12 seconds on Impressive) next bucked off, setting up one final matchup.
The red-hot Rafael dos Santos had already won the first two rounds of the PBR Brazil Finals with 91.25 points on Carcamano and 90 points on Unpredictable. All Santos needed was 75.5 points to win the Finals and the championship aboard 2019 PBR Brazil Bull of the Year Netflix.
Netflix, though, would stumble out of the gate and Santos was awarded a re-ride. Tizil then ended Santos championship dreams by bucking him off in 4.52 seconds.
“I am in a phase of many victories, because I am riding well,” Souza told PBR Brazil’s Jorge Cardoso. I had good results in the United States and here I managed to stay well too.”
Souza won $121,946.67 Reals – $28,762.06 – with his PBR Brazil Finals victory only 24 days after he finished third at the 2019 PBR World Finals for $126,166.67.
The 26-year-old began the PBR Brazil Finals No. 8 in the PBR Brazil standings and 859.17 points behind the previous No. 1 and injured LeAndro Machado.
Souza earned 1,532.5 points toward the PBR Brazil standings, and 60 world points in the 2020 world standings, to make the comeback.
It has been a humbling journey for the Taubate, Brazil native, who, alongside his twin brother, Alisson, have worked their way out of poverty through professional bull riding.
RELATED: Souza humbled and grateful for World Finals success
Alan made his debut in the United States at the January 4 at the Touring Pro Division event in Fort Worth, Texas. Fifteen days later, he won the Columbia, South Carolina, Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event to eventually earn a spot at Iron Cowboy in Los Angeles. He would go 2-for-3 at the Staples Center in his UTB debut.
Alan would compete the following week in North Little Rock, Arkansas, but would then not return to the premier series until Sept. 21 in Fairfax, Virginia.
Two weeks later and a determined Souza went 3-for-3 at the Minneapolis Invitational for his first career victory, clinching a spot at the 2019 PBR World Finals as well.
RELATED: Alan de Souza’s victory puts him on pace to join twin brother in Las Vegas
Souza, who dislocated his shoulder during the summer break, finished 2019 14-for-23 (60.87%) with that victory and one Top-5 finish. He finished second in the Rookie of the Year race to Dalton Kasel. Similar to Kasel (10), Alan competed in a limited amount of premier series events (seven) in 2019 and still finished in the top tier of the world standings.
Now Souza can add to his list of 2019 accomplishments a PBR Brazil championship and PBR Brazil Finals event victory.
Souza is the 13th different PBR Brazil champion since the organization’s inception in 2006.
His championship only helps his case as he tries to earn a roster spot on 2008 World Champion Guilherme Marchi’s Global Cup roster. The 2020 WinStar World Casino and Resort Global Cup USA, presented by Monster Energy, takes place on Feb. 15-16 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
GOMES WINS 2019 PBR BRAZIL ROOKIE OF THE YEAR
Fabricio Gomes went 1-for-3 at the PBR Brazil Finals, but the 20-year-old finished fifth in the PBR Brazil standings to take home top rookie honors.
Gomes led PBR Brazil with 21 qualified rides in 32 events and posted three Top-5 finishes.
Professional Bull Riders - 2019 PBR Brazil Finals
Brasilia, Brazil
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Alan de Souza, 80,75-84-92-256.75-1532,5 Points.
2. Amadeu Campos Silva, 80,25-87-89-256.25-840 Points.
3. Rafael H. dos Santos, 91,25-90-0-181.25-950 Points.
4. Roberto Carlos Vieira Junior, 90,75-86,25-0-177.00-450 Points.
5. Mauricio Gula Moreira, 87,25-88-0-175.25-450 Points.
6. Igor Junqueira, 0-85,5-86,5-172.00-275 Points.
7. Junio Patrick Souza, 77-83,25-0-160.25-55 Points.
8. José Adolfo Neto, 0-87,5-0-87.50-145 Points.
(tie). Lucas Junio Gomes da Silva, 0-87,5-0-87.50-145 Points.
10. Pablo Assunção, 86,75-0-0-86.75-125 Points.
11. Rodolfo Alves, 85-0-0-85.00-75 Points.
12. Romario Leite, 0-84,75-0-84.75-20 Points.
13. Lucas Martins Costa, 84,5-0-0-84.50-40 Points.
14. Adriano Salgado, 0-84-0-84.00-7,5 Points.
15. Fabricio Gomes, 0-80,75-0-80.75
16. Lindomar Lino, 80,25-0-0-80.25-15 Points.
Caic Cassio Carvalho, 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Marcilio, 0-0-0-0.00
Bruno Scaranello, 0-0-0-0.00
Flávio Vinícius da Silva, 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Júnior da Silva, 0-0-0-0.00
Joao Lucas, 0-0-0-0.00
Fabio Eleuterio, 0-0-0-0.00
Ednélio Rodrigues Almeida, 0-0-0-0.00
João Marcelo G. Santos, 0-0-0-0.00
Marcos Fernando Menezes, 0-0-0-0.00
Marcio Luis Lima, 0-0-0-0.00
Robinson Guedes, 0-0-0-0.00
Maciel Santana, 0-0-0-0.00
Eder de Souza Violim, 0-0-0-0.00
Wilton Leite, 0-0-0-0.00
João Paulo Victor, 0-0-0-0.00
Dirlei Bonani, 0-0-0-0.00
Antonio Frederico Calcagni, 0-0-0-0.00
Jordans Jordão Jr., 0-0-0-0.00
Felipe Alexandre Pereira, 0-0-0-0.00
Jerson Arantes dos Santos, 0-0-0-0.00
2019 PBR Brazil Standings
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5's, Points, Total Winnings)
1. Alan de Souza, 6, 2, 2, 2.240,83, R$ 132.276,67
2. Rafael H. dos Santos, 8, 1, 2, 1.752,50, R$ 20.657,50
3. Leandro Machado, 6, 1, 4, 1.567,50, R$ 14.140,15
4. Caic Cassio Carvalho, 4, 1, 2, 1.260,00, R$ 33.622,22
5. Fabricio Gomes, 9, 0, 3, 983,33, R$ 15.717,50
6. Roberto Carlos Vieira Junior, 8, 0, 4, 954,16, R$ 12.118,95
7. Amadeu Campos Silva, 3, 0, 2, 935,00, R$ 19.466,67
8. Mauricio Gula Moreira, 4, 0, 2, 870,00, R$ 11.898,95
9. Romario Leite, 5, 1, 1, 852,50, R$ 5.886,45
10. Joao Lucas, 10, 0, 3, 802,50, R$ 7.725,00
11. Lucas Martins Costa, 9, 0, 2, 752,50, R$ 10.373,95
12. José Adolfo Neto, 8, 0, 2, 707,50, R$ 17.275,00
13. Bruno Scaranello, 7, 1, 1, 632,50, R$ 25.371,67
14. Alex Júnior da Silva, 9, 0, 2, 568,33, R$ 8.532,50
15. Fabio Eleuterio, 7, 0, 2, 507,50, R$ 18.146,67
16. Adriano Salgado, 7, 1, 3, 500,00, R$ 55.100,00
17. Ednélio Rodrigues Almeida, 7, 0, 2, 495,00, R$ 4.439,34
18. Igor Junqueira, 5, 0, 1, 490,00, R$ 11.798,33
19. Pablo Assunção, 8, 0, 1, 485,00, R$ 4.247,50
20. Silvano Alves, 3, 1, 1, 460,00, R$ 12.015,00
21. Marcos Fernando Menezes, 8, 1, 1, 356,66, R$ 8.850,00
22. Maciel Santana, 9, 0, 1, 300,00, R$ 1.800,00
23. Wilton Leite, 5, 0, 1, 287,50, R$ 2.240,00
24. Flávio Vinícius da Silva, 6, 0, 1, 270,00, R$ 6.810,00
25. Eder de Souza Violim, 8, 0, 1, 247,50, R$ 2.187,50
26. Lucas Junio Gomes da Silva, 6, 0, 1, 222,50, R$ 3.972,50
27. Rodolfo Alves, 6, 0, 0, 165,00, R$ 600,00
28. João Marcelo G. Santos, 8, 0, 0, 157,50, R$ 1.347,50
29. Lucas Mateus Teixeira, 3, 0, 0, 135,00, R$ 705,00
30. Rafael Marcelino de Montanha, 4, 0, 1, 125,00, R$ 3.450,00
31. Rubens Barbosa, 2, 0, 0, 95,00, R$ 2.430,00
32. Felipe Alexandre Pereira, 6, 0, 0, 87,50, R$ 975,00
33. João Paulo Victor, 4, 0, 0, 75,00, R$ 900,00
33. Jordans Jordão Jr., 6, 0, 0, 75,00, R$ 600,00
35. Alex Cerqueira, 4, 0, 0, 72,50, R$ 225,00
36. Antonio Frederico Calcagni, 3, 0, 0, 60,00, R$ 150,00
36. Jerson Arantes dos Santos, 3, 0, 0, 60,00, R$ 787,50
38. Fernando Henrique Novais, 4, 0, 0, 57,50, R$ 607,50
39. Junio Patrick Souza, 1, 0, 0, 55,00, R$ 2.240,00
40. Alisson De Souza, 3, 0, 0, 37,50, R$ 0,00
41. Roberto Elidio Tobias, 2, 0, 0, 36,66, R$ 300,00
42. Alex Marcilio, 3, 0, 0, 32,50, R$ 675,00
43. Andre Maximo, 1, 0, 0, 30,00, R$ 150,00
44. Eduardo Aguiar, 1, 0, 0, 27,50, R$ 112,50
45. Gildasio Teixeira Guedes, 2, 0, 0, 25,00, R$ 0,00
