PUEBLO, Colo. – The PBR is far from taking a break, especially with the news of the PBR Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by U.S. Border Patrol, getting underway in two weeks in Las Vegas at the South Point Hotel Casino and Spa.
The PBR will be announcing team rosters and further competition details in the coming weeks, but in the meantime, let’s take a look back at some of the top performers of the first half of the Unleash The Beast season and how it compares to the 2019 first half.
The riders below will almost certainly be threats to dominate portions of the Monster Energy Team Challenge, which concludes July 10-12 in Sioux Falls, South Dakota.
2020 First Half UTB Events: 13 | 2019 First Half UTB Events: 16
2020 World No. 1 First Half Leader: Jose Vitor Leme (+235 points on No. 2 Jess Lockwood)
2019 World No. 1 First Half Leader: Jose Vitor Leme (+413.16 points on No. 2 Chase Outlaw)
Quick Analysis: The 2020 season has a different points system that features lower point totals compared to 2019. Roughly, one world point in 2020 is worth four in the old system. Therefore, Leme would have an estimated 940-point lead compared to his 413.16-point advantage at the conclusion of last year’s first half. There was originally 14 UTB events scheduled in the 2020 first half before the COVID-19 (coronavirus) outbreak.
2020 First Half UTB Event Wins Leader: Jose Vitor Leme (4)
2019 First Half UTB Event wins Leader: Joao Ricardo Vieira (3)
Quick Analysis: Leme already has the same amount of event wins (4) that he had in total last season. Meanwhile, Vieira was ranked No. 3 in the world standings last season at the end of the UTB first half, just as he is now. Vieira did not compete, though, in the past three UTB events at the Lazy E Arena as he returned to Brazil with his family because of the COVID-19 outbreak. The only other rider with multiple event wins in 2020 is Lucas Divino (2). Divino may be a dark horse threat to be an impact player in Las Vegas next month. The No. 7-ranked rider in the world standings has a stock that is on the rise.
2020 First Half UTB 15/15 Bucking Battles: 4 (four different winners)
2019 First Half UTB 15/15 Bucking Battles: 6 (five different winners; one event with no rides)
Quick Analysis: The last two years have seen a variety of riders earn victories in 15/15 Bucking Battle. The nationally televised events are worth more in the world standings this season, and two of the Top 4 riders in the world standings – Joao Ricardo Vieira and Daylon Swearingen – have 15/15 victories on their resumes. Surprisingly, Leme is only 1-for-4 in 15/15 Bucking Battles in 2020.
2020 First Half UTB Qualified Rides Leader: Jose Vitor Leme (25)
2019 First Half UTB Qualified Rides Leader: Chase Outlaw (27)
2020 First Half UTB Riding Percentage Leader: Jose Vitor Leme (73.53%)
2019 First Half UTB Riding Percentage Leader: Jess Lockwood (62.5%)
Quick Analysis: Leme would likely have surpassed Outlaw’s 2019 first half numbers if he did not miss two events because of broken ribs he sustained in Kansas City. Regardless, Leme is riding at a historically great level, and he should be a monster in the team competition. The last rider to ride more than 73% through 34 outs on the premier series was 2008 World Champion Guilherme Marchi. The 2019 Ring of Honor inductee began his championship season 28-for-34 (82.35%).
In regards to Outlaw and Lockwood, both should be big-time players to steal world points away from the world title contenders in the second half, and especially at the World Finals (Nov. 4-8 in Las Vegas). It is a shame that neither rider is healthy for the event. Both have big-time moments in past team format events; Lockwood helped lead the Team USA Eagles to victory at the Global Cup USA this year, and Outlaw helped lead Team Cooper Tires to victory last year at Chad Berger’s team event in Bismarck, North Dakota.
2020 First Half Top UTB Ride: Ryan Dirteater (92.75 points on Smooth Over)
2019 First Half Top UTB Ride: Jose Vitor Leme (92.75 points on Cochise)
Quick Analysis: Ryan Dirteater may be cleared to return to action for the Monster Energy Team Challenge, and if so, the 2016 World Finals event winner will be a huge addition to any team. Dirteater had ridden Smooth Over, who was just recently marked 47.5 points this past weekend, for a season-best 92.75 points during Iron Cowboy in February. However, Dirteater then sustained multiple thoracic fractures the next round when he was bucked off by Mason’s Missouri Golden.
2020 First Half UTB Round Wins: Jose Vitor Leme & Jess Lockwood (8)
2019 First Half UTB Round Wins: Jose Vitor Leme (10)
Quick Analysis: Leme had 10 round wins through 16 events in 2019, while this year he has eight in 11 events. If not for those broken ribs in the winter, Leme would likely have double-digit round wins. Round wins have been dominated by Leme and Jess Lockwood in 2020. Daylon Swearingen and Stetson Lawrence are tied for the third most-round wins with three. Lawrence has three round wins in only eight qualified rides this season.
2020 First Half UTB Rookie of the Year Leader: Cole Melancon
2019 First Half UTB Rookie of the Year Leader: Cody Jesus
Quick Analysis: Cole Melancon will be happy to be leaving the Lazy E Arena. The legendary Oklahoma rodeo venue has been nothing but a house of horrors for him during the three Unleash The Beast events. Melancon bucked off all five bulls in Guthrie, and he will be heading to Vegas with a streak of seven consecutive buckoffs. Cody Jesus was leading the 2019 Rookie of the Year race and was ranked 11th last year, but he was already beginning to deal with a torn left groin. Jesus has never truly fully recovered from injuries to both his left and right groin since then, and he has not competed since the 2020 Global Cup USA.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
