CHEYENNE, Wyo. – The stretch run to the 2021 PBR World Finals begins Monday at Last Cowboy Standing at Cheyenne Frontier Days.
With the Unleash The Beast returning to action, here is a look at the current Top 35 of the world standings and how each rider’s summer went.
Round 1 begins Monday night in Cheyenne at 10 p.m. ET live on CBS Sports Network.
1. Jose Vitor Leme (World Standings Change: 0)
Jose Vitor Leme increased his lead on No. 2 Kaique Pacheco to 68.5 points by winning the Dakota Community Bank & Trust PBR Bull Riding Challenge, as well as placing third on a second entry. Beyond that, Leme also rode YETI World Champion Bull contender The Right Stuff for 95.5 points to win a $10,000 bounty matchup there in Bismarck, North Dakota.
Leme competed at two additional events, both nights of the Slick Rock Challenge on June 25-26, and finished in sixth place. He went a combined 6-for-8 in the two events for 50 world points.
The 24-year-old has since been practicing at home and at 2018 World Finals event winner Marco Eguchi’s ranch after taking the last month off from competition.
2. Kaique Pacheco (World Standings Change: 0)
The 2018 World Champion went home to Brazil to spend the summer break with family and friends. In 2018, Pacheco only competed at the 2018 Global Cup in Sydney and two PBR Brazil events during the UTB break.
3. Cooper Davis (World Standings Change: 0)
The 2016 World Champion took the majority of the summer off except for this past week when he cracked his bull rope back out for the Days of ’47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo. Davis went 0-for-2 in Salt Lake City, including a 3.23-second buckoff against Dennis Saturday night in the Gold Medal Round. Dennis was marked an impressive 46.5 points.
4. Dener Barbosa (World Standings Change: 0)
Barbosa was qualified for Days of ’47, but he decided not to compete at the WCRA event after getting his back stepped on by West Coast Connection at the Koben Puckett PBR Touring Pro Division event on July 10.
The 27-year-old said he was feeling better and would be ready for Last Cowboy Standing. Before his back injury, Barbosa placed first, third and fourth at the Slick Rock Challenge TPD events in Rocksprings, Texas, in June.
Barbosa went a combined 5-for-12 in four PBR events.
5. Joao Ricardo Vieira (World Standings Change: 0)
The soon-to-be 37-year-old went home to Brazil following an 0-for-2 showing in Bismarck on June 18-19.
Vieira did attempt five practice bulls in Brazil but primarily spent the month off letting his abdominal injury from the WCRA event in Corpus Christi heal.
The 2013 Rookie of the Year missed two premier series events because of the injury before returning for the conclusion of the first half of the Unleash The Beast with a 1-for-3 showing at the PBR Las Vegas Invitational.
Vieira went 0-for-2 at Days of ’47, including a 2.26-second buckoff against Cold Chill in the Gold Medal Round.
6. Marco Eguchi (World Standings Change: 0)
Following the trend of most of the title contenders, Eguchi took off the summer from PBR competition outside of Days of ’47.
The 2018 World Finals event winner was bucked off by Bad Company in 2.03 seconds.
Eguchi has been practicing at home in Decatur, Texas, in preparation for Last Cowboy Standing.
7. Junior Patrik Souza (World Standings Change: +4)
Souza was the only new rider to crack the Top 10 of the world standings, and he will arrive in Cheyenne on a solid winning streak.
Souza earned 52.5 world points this summer by going 7-for-10 and winning his last two events – the PBR Touring Pro Major event in Big Sky, Montana, this past weekend and the Koben Puckett Invitational in Amarillo, Texas, on July 10.
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Souza earned the victory in Big Sky with a career-best 91 points on WSM’s Foghorn Leghorn.
The 28-year-old has also competed at some open rodeos and bull ridings this summer, placing third in Gallup, New Mexico, and picking up wins in Tehachapi, California, and Mabank, Texas.
8. Derek Kolbaba (World Standings Change: -1)
Kolbaba returned to competition following a six-week break with a 3.08-second buckoff Friday night at Days of ’47 against Honky Tonk. The Walla Walla, Washington, bull rider previously punctured his lung in Great Falls, Montana, on June 5 and had to spend nine days in the hospital recovering from his injuries, which included doctors draining “a couple pop cans full” of blood and fluid from his lung.
9. Colten Fritzlan (World Standings Change: -1)
The leading contender for Rookie of the Year is currently trying to determine if he needs to undergo reconstructive left shoulder surgery immediately or if he can hold off on the operation.
Fritzlan was first injured on May 19 when he was bucked off by a practice bull in Granbury, Texas. He returned to competition at the end of June with a 79.5-point ride on Record Rack’s Overpass at the Greeley Stampede. He then rode for another 79 points (Pass the Booze) before being bucked off Badger at the Cody Stampede.
10. Cody Teel (World Standings Change: -1)
Teel went 2-for-6 in three summer events. His 84-point ride on Ground Zero in Big Sky on Friday helped him finish ninth overall for 0.5 world points.
11. Silvano Alves (World Standings Change: -1)
The three-time World Champion went 0-for-4 three TPD events, including an 0-for-2 showing this past weekend at the Coconut Point Ford PBR event in Estero, Florida.
12. Keyshawn Whitehorse (World Standings Change: +2)
The 2018 Rookie of the Year competed at five events this summer. His best performance came at the PBR Tryon Chute Out, where he and Ezekiel Mitchell tied for the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour victory.
Whitehorse earned 54.5 world points, tied for the third-most in the PBR this summer with Grayson Cole, by going 7-for-12 (58.33%) with four Top-10 finishes.
The 24-year-old was sitting in third place at the PBR Big Sky event before returning to Salt Lake City for the Gold Medal Round at Days of ’47 on Saturday. Bad Beagle proceeded to buck Whitehorse off in 7.59 seconds.
13. Rafael Henrique dos Santos (World Standings Change: -1)
Santos won the first night of competition at the Slick Rock Challenge with a 2-for-2 showing, highlighted by a 90-point ride on Kid Knapper. However, Santos injured his ribs during that event in Rocksprings, Texas, and he will not be competing at Last Cowboy Standing.
14. Chase Dougherty (World Standings Change: +2)
Dougherty competed at 12 PBR/PRCA events this summer, going a combined 11-for-21 (52.38%) with a 90-point ride on Time in a Bottle to split the victory at the Mandan Rodeo Days with Josh Frost.
The No. 2-ranked rookie in the PBR went 1-for-2 in Big Sky before returning to Salt Lake City like Whitehorse for the Gold Medal Round at Days of ’47. Dougherty could not convert on his re-ride opportunity, though, and Flight Risk bucked him off in 2.38 seconds.
15. Mauricio Moreira (World Standings Change: -2)
Moreira went 1-for-6 at four summer PBR events. HP-828 bucked him off in 2.52 seconds Thursday at Days of ’47.
16. Cole Melancon (World Standings Change: -2)
Melancon went 1-for-4 (88 points on Rising Sun) this past weekend in Big Sky as he made his first appearance after undergoing reconstructive right elbow surgery in May. Melancon had at least three or four bone spurs and a series of bone chips cleaned out by elbow specialist Dr. John Conway.
17. Boudreaux Campbell (World Standings Change: 0)
Campbell used the summer break to hit the rodeo trail hard, and he was able to push himself back inside the Top 10 of the PRCA bull riding standings. He went 9-for-25 (36%), including a 90-point ride on Devils Advocate, to win the Livingston Roundup over the Fourth of July.
According to ProRodeo.com, Campbell was ranked 9th in the PRCA standings as of Monday morning with $59,184.96.
18. Joao Henrique Lucas (World Standings Change: +1)
Lucas finished in fifth place at the Texas Cowboy Reunion TPD event in Stamford, Texas, in his only PBR event this summer. He went 1-for-2 with an 86-point ride on Hooper Scooper.
The 31-year-old also competed at some open rodeos this summer. Last week, Lucas rode for 90.5 points in Mount Pleasant, Texas.
19. Eduardo Aparecido (World Standings Change: 0)
Aparecido did not compete at the final event of the first half in Las Vegas because of a nagging right elbow sprain that dates back to March 20. The 31-year-old returned home to Brazil for 35 days this summer to spend time with his family and friends while also going to physical therapy and winning two team roping competitions.
20. Alex Cerqueira (World Standings Change: 0)
Cerqueira went 0-for-2 at the Days of ’47 in his first PBR event since he sustained a concussion in Billings, Montana, on May 15. Cerqueira spent a portion of the summer break home in Brazil.
21. Jesse Petri (World Standings Change: 0)
Petri went 4-for-14 (28.57%) in six PBR events this summer. The No. 3-ranked rookie ended his summer run on a high note by riding Pillow Drift for 87.5 points Saturday night in Big Sky.
22. Taylor Toves (World Standings Change: 0)
Toves went 1-for-5 at two TPD events. Toves began Big Sky with an 87-point effort on Rising Sun before bucking off his next two bulls.
Outside of the arena, Toves announced two weeks ago that he and his fiancé, Macaulay, are expecting a baby girl in October.
23. Ezekiel Mitchell (World Standings Change: +6)
Mitchell competed in just three events this summer, going 3-for-8, but his co-victory with Whitehorse at the PBR Tryon Chute Out helped him pick up 39 world points and move up six positions in the world standings.
24. Cody Jesus (World Standings Change: 0)
Jesus finished in third place at his lone summer event – the Binford PBR on June 26. Jesus went 1-for-2 with an 88-point ride on Big Horn.
25. Austin Richardson (World Standings Change: -2)
Richardson expected to compete in multiple Touring Pro Division events during the Unleash The Beast summer break, but that quickly changed at the end of June. He was competing at an Ultimate Bull Team Challenge event in Rapid City, South Dakota when he got his right riding arm stomped on.
Thankfully, Richardson did not sustain a serious injury and instead just needed some time off to let the arm heal.
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The No. 1-ranked rider in the Velocity Tour returned to competition in Big Sky and went 1-for-3 (86.5 points on Pink Tornado).
Before getting hurt, Richardson went 1-for-3 in Bismarck in the middle of June.
26. Claudio Montanha Jr. (World Standings Change: +6)
Montanha erupted at Days of ’47 with two 90-point rides en route to the Gold Medal and $49,200 on Saturday night.
Montanha first qualified for the final round with a 90-point ride on Flight Risk Thursday and then conquered Arctic Assassin for 91 points on Saturday. It is the first time in his career that he has posted two 90-point rides in the same event.
The 32-year-old had been flirting with the Unleash The Beast cutline for the majority of the season, but his breakout performance in Utah netted him 44 points to push him back inside the Top 30 of the world standings.
Montanha went 4-for-10 (40%) during the UTB break at five events and picked up 57.5 points toward the world standings – the second-most in the PBR.
27. Dalton Kasel (World Standings Change: +9)
Kasel has been arguably the best rider since the UTB summer break began. The 2019 Rookie of the Year returned from reconstructive elbow surgery on his right free arm on June 18 in Bismarck, North Dakota, and is 11-for-16 (68.75%) after sitting out of competition for three months. Kasel earned 79.25 points towards the world standings this summer to jump from No. 36 to No. 27.
In Big Sky, Kasel finished tied for second place alongside Daylon Swearingen with a 2-for-4 showing. However, the 22-year-old cashed in on Friday night by riding bonus bull Lil Bit Crazy for 78 points to contribute to him leaving Big Sky with a $40,021.66 payday.
Kasel has five Top-5 finishes this summer, and he won the Allegros PBR in Paris (Tennessee) by Cody Nance TPD event on July 2.
28. Cody Nance (World Standings Change: 0)
Nance finished in third place at his namesake event with a 2-for-3 performance. The only other event the 11-time PBR World Finals qualifier competed at was the PBR Tryon Chute Out (0-for-2).
29. Kyler Oliver (World Standings Change: -4)
Oliver has been out of competition since deciding to undergo reconstructive left shoulder surgery in mid-April.
30. Mason Taylor (World Standings Change: -2)
Taylor went 2-for-4 and finished in fifth place in Big Sky this weekend. Big Sky was his third event of the summer, and he finished the summer run 4-for-9. Taylor also went 2-for-2 to win Dakota Young’s open event in early July.
31. Marcelo Procopio Pereira (World Standings Change: -4)
Pereira competed at two PBR events during the summer break. He went 1-for-4 in PBR action, with his lone ride coming in Big Sky (85 points on Skeeter Peter). The 26-year-old competed at some open bull ridings as well, including a third-place (Uvalde, Texas) and a second-place (Bandera, Texas) finish a week ago.
32. Caic Cassio Carvalho (World Standings Change: -2)
Carvalho remains out of competition since sustaining a left shoulder injury at the UTB first-half finale in Las Vegas when he was bucked off by Buckin’ For Cash (4.54 seconds).
33. Michael Lane (World Standings Change: +6)
Lane went 2-for-2 on Championship Sunday to win the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Bangor Classic this weekend, ending a streak of five consecutive buckoffs this summer.
The 31-year-old was expected to compete in Cheyenne on Monday night, but he ran into flight problems attempting to get from the east coast to Cheyenne in time for Last Cowboy Standing.
Regardless, the win puts Lane right back in the mix for not only a World Finals qualification spot but also the Velocity Tour championship.
34. Jess Lockwood (World Standings Change: -3)
Lockwood spent the break continuing to rehab from the core muscle repair surgery that ended his first half in mid-May.
The two-time World Champion is hopeful he will be cleared to return to competition in mid-September if his recovery continues to progress positively.
35. Luciano de Castro (World Standings Change: 0)
Castro went 6-for-13 with two second-place finishes (Springdale, Arkansas & Rocksprings, Texas) at six Touring Pro Division events to maintain his hold on the No. 35 world ranking.
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media