PUEBLO, Colo. – On Sunday, the championship round of the PBR Lucas Oil Invitational, presented by U.S. Border Patrol, will air live on CBS national television at 2 p.m. ET.
While the riders in that championship round have yet to be decided, one thing is certain: they will have their work cut out for them.
Awaiting them in the bull pen are YETI World Champion Bulls from 2016-2019, the 2017, 2018 and 2019 Bull of the World Finals event winners, the 2018 and 2019 ABBI Classic Champions, and the current world No. 2, 3 and 4 bulls.
Making the 8-second whistle will be no easy task for the best bull riders in the world.
The 15 bulls slated to buck in the championship round:
SweetPro’s Bruiser (55-15, UTB)
Hocus Pocus (12-1, UTB)
Chiseled (10-5, UTB)
Smooth Operator (77-7, UTB)
Hostage (14-3, UTB)
Stretch (21-8, UTB)
I’m Legit Too (10-6, UTB)
Western Skies (6-1, UTB)
Speed Demon (45-8, UTB)
Heartbreak Kid (42-3, UTB)
Good Night Robicheaux (20-0, UTB)
Smooth Over (21-11, UTB)
Struttin Stuff (33-2, UTB)
Sky Harbor (20-3, UTB)
Check out some of the bull pen’s top career outs below, and tune in to CBS on Sunday to catch all the action.
SweetPro’s Bruiser – 47.5 points against Ryan Dirteater (6.67 seconds), 2018 Ak-Chin Invitational 15/15 Bucking Battle
The three-time World Champion didn’t win those titles by accident: SweetPro’s Bruiser has four scores of 47 points or more in his premier series career. The best of those outs was his 47.5-point trip against Ryan Dirteater at the Ak-Chin Invitational 15/15 Bucking Battle in 2018. Bruiser tossed Dirteater in 6.67 seconds for a career-high score of 47.5 points en route to his third world title. Though he lost the crown in 2019, Bruiser still looks to be in the mix for what would be a record-breaking fourth World Championship.
RELATED: SweetPro’s Bruiser wins 2018 World Champion Bull title
Hocus Pocus – 47 points against Matt Triplett (1.83 seconds), 2018 PBR World Finals
Hocus Pocus may have been relatively unknown at the 2018 PBR World Finals, but that didn’t last too long. In Round 1, he dispatched two-time World Champion J.B. Mauney for a 45.5-point bull score, and the race was on from there. In Round 4, he tossed Matt Triplett in 1.83 seconds for a whopping 47 points and the highest bull score of the World Finals. Hocus Pocus won the 2018 ABBI Classic Championship, and would ultimately split the 2018 Bull of the Finals title with Legit.
RELATED: Legit and Hocus Pocus split 2018 Bull of the Finals title
Chiseled – 47 points against Rubens Barbosa (95.75 points), 2019 PBR World Finals
It’s not often that a 47-point bull score results in a qualified ride, but that’s exactly what happened when Rubens Barbosa and Chiseled matched up in Round 4 of the 2019 PBR World Finals. Barbosa brought the house down with a monstrous 95.75-point ride – the fourth-highest score ever recorded at a PBR World Finals, and the highest-scoring ride at a Finals since 2001. Only 10 rides in PBR history have ever been scored higher, and none have even equaled it since 2008. For his part, Chiseled tied for the highest bull score of the event.
RELATED: Barbosa puts up historic 95.75-point ride at World Finals
Smooth Operator – 47 points against Chase Outlaw (4.11 seconds), 2019 PBR World Finals
The 2019 PBR World Finals was the Smooth Operator show. The 9-year-old bovine capped a dominating season with an even more controlling performance, sweeping the YETI World Champion Bull and Bull of the Finals titles in addition to the regular-season top bull honors. Smooth Operator needed a strong showing in his final out to clinch the world title following his 46.25-point showing against Dylan Smith in Round 2. In the championship round, Smooth Operator dispatched Chase Outlaw in 4.11 seconds for a career-high 47 points, and the victory lap that followed was more than well-deserved.
RELATED: Smooth Operator erupts for YETI World Champion Bull title and YETI Bull of the Finals title
Heartbreak Kid – 46.5 points against Lucas Divino (1.32 seconds), 2019 PBR World Finals
Heartbreak Kid was one of – if not the – most feared bulls of 2019. The buckoffs just kept piling up, and Heartbreak Kid ultimately bucked off 38 consecutive riders – the second-longest such streak in PBR history – before he was ridden by eventual World Champion Jess Lockwood twice in October. Despite entering the World Finals having been ridden twice in a row, Heartbreak Kid got back to his old ways in a hurry, bucking off Lucas Divino in 1.32 seconds in Round 2 for 46.5 points.
RELATED: Lockwood ends Heartbreak Kid’s streak of 38 consecutive buckoffs