By the Numbers: Gwinnett Invitational
Several riders made huge jumps up the world standings, Silvano Alves inched towards a milestone, the world title race tightened and more.
PUEBLO, Colo. – The 10th stop on the Unleash The Beast calendar saw a new name enter the world title race conversation with Dener Barbosa’s perfect 3-for-3 weekend propelling him to No. 6 in the world standings.
It was two years ago in Duluth, Georgia, that Barbosa broke his right foot and saw his world title aspirations essentially come to an end as he missed five months and never regained his previous form.
Now the 25-year-old is healthy and starting to ride like he was back in 2018 ahead of next weekend’s non-public event to be held in Pueblo, Colorado.
Here is a quick by-the-numbers look at the Gwinnett Invitational
292.59: Points Barbosa sits behind the world No. 1 ranking
Barbosa capped his weekend with a 91-point ride on Bullseye to win the second premier series event of his career Sunday. The 2016 PBR Brazil champion earned 99 world points by riding Here to Party (84.25 points) and Lester Gillis for 85.75 points.
It is a gain for Barbosa seeing as world leader Jose Vitor Leme (broken ribs) missed his second consecutive event. Barbosa now trails Leme by 292.59 points in the world title race.
In three weeks, Barbosa has earned 158 points in the world title race, jumping from No. 11 to No. 6 in the world standings. Prior to the Kansas City, Missouri, event, Barbosa was 446.59 points behind Leme.
1,226: Days it took Barbosa to record his first 90-point ride
Barbosa’s 91-point ride is the first 90-point ride of his career. It comes 1,226 days after he made his premier series debut at the 2016 PBR World Finals. His previous highest-scored ride at the PBR’s top level was an 89.5-point effort on Pearl Harbor.
60.9: Barbosa’s riding percentage
Barbosa is now 14-for-23 on the premier series. His 60.9% riding percentage is the second-best in the PBR behind Leme’s 74.1%.
The talented Brazilian has always been one of the PBR’s most consistent bull riders, and has a career average of 50.81%. He is six rides away from 100 career rides.
26: Spots Moreira jumped in world standings
There is a new Rookie of the Year contender, and his name is Mauricio Moreira.
The 20-year-old won two of three rounds in Duluth to jump from No. 43 to No. 17 in the world standings. Moreira won Round 1 with 87.75 points on Freakin Wicked, and the championship round with a career-best 91.25 points on Big Black, who Barbosa opted to not select with the top pick.
Moreira is now No. 2 in the rookie race and trails ROY leader Cole Melancon by 134.67 points.
68: Positions Whitehorse moved in world standings
Keyshawn Whitehorse still has plenty of work to do if he hopes to avoid being cut from the Unleash The Beast, but he is one step closer to cracking the Top 35.
Whitehorse went 2-for-3 in Duluth for 29.5 world points, and finished a season-best fifth overall. He rode Sunny for 82.75 points in Round 1 and Hammered Down for 86.5 points in Round 2 before Rebel Call bucked him off in 3.95 seconds in the championship round.
The 22-year-old began the weekend 124th in the world standings, and he leaves Duluth ranked 56th. He is down to one final injury exemption, and he trails No. 35 Taylor Toves by 31 points.
Duluth is Whitehorse’s best event since finishing in fifth place last year in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
53.5: World points earned by No. 4 Swearingen
No. 3 Joao Ricardo Vieira and No. 5 Kaique Pacheco were unable to gain ground in the world title race, but No. 4 Daylon Swearingen stepped on Championship Sunday.
Swearingen earned 53.5 world points by riding Joker for 86.5 points in Round 2 and Lil 2 Train for 89 points in the championship round.
The second-year pro trails Leme by 193.84 points in the world standings.
This is Swearingen’s third third-place finish of 2020. He has finished third in Duluth, Kansas City and Sacramento, California.
88.5: Chandler’s new career-high with Round 2 victory
Tye Chandler won Round 2 with a career-high 88.5 points aboard Skeeter Peter. The round win earned Chandler 20 world points, pushing him to No. 22 in the world standings.
Chandler has never qualified for the PBR World Finals, but this weekend is another step in the right direction for the 25-year-old.
46.25: YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull score for Godzilla
Godzilla was named the YETI “Built for the Wild” bull of the event courtesy of his 46.25-point bull score for dismantling Ezekiel Mitchell in 2.52 seconds in the championship round. It is the first time in Godzilla’s career that he has ever been scored more than 45 points. Godzilla is 7-0 in 2020 with an average bull score of 43.54 points.
411: Career rides for Alves
Three-time World Champion Silvano Alves picked up career ride 411 on the premier series when he rode Armageddon on Saturday night in Round 1. However, he was unable to get No. 412 Sunday to tie two-time World Champion Chris Shivers for the fifth-most qualified rides all-time when he was bucked off by Identity Crisis (4.23 seconds) and Rocky (3.26 seconds).