OKLAHOMA CITY – For the 22^nd season, PBR’s (Professional Bull Riders) elite Unleash The Beast will buck into Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, welcoming fans to the Paycom Center on February 11-12, 2022, for the PBR Express Ranches Invitational.

For two nights only, the Top 30 bull riders in the world will compete in one of the most exciting live sporting events to witness. With bull riders going head-to-head against the sport’s rankest bovine athletes, the tour stop will showcase the ultimate showdown of man vs. beast.

PBR has a storied history in Oklahoma’s capital city, which is the league’s longest-running event in the Sooner State.

In 2021, veteran rider Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil) delivered a walk-off 90-point ride in the championship round of the Oklahoma City tour stop to clinch his first elite tour victory of 2021 and surge to the world No. 2 rank.

Vieira began his march to the top of the Can-Am Cage by winning Round 1 courtesy of an 87.75-point trip aboard Good Whiskey.

As Championship Sunday got underway, Vieira was the first rider to deliver a qualified ride in Round 2, posting what would be the eighth-best mark when he covered Stinger for 84.5 points.

With the first pick in the championship round bull draft, Vieira selected Homegrown (Cord McCoy/Chad Reese). Matching the powerful bull jump-for-jump, Vieira reached the 8-second whistle for a monstrous 91-point score as his signature charismatic smile spread across his face.

The 90-point ride was Vieira’s second of the event, as he also recorded head-turning marks in the tour stop’s accompanying 15/15 Bucking Battle following Round 1. Vieira registered a third-place finish in the special round, going the distance aboard Diddy Wa Diddy for 91 points.

Collectively, Vieira earned a critical 182.5 world points, propelling him from No. 4 to No. 2 in the world standings. While Vieira remained firmly within the Top 5 of the world standings for the remainder of the year, he was again denied his first World Championship, concluding the year No. 4 in the world. 

In 2020, phenom Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil) captured his second-consecutive 2020 PBR Unleash The Beast victory at the PBR Express Ranches Invitational. He topped the leaderboard inside Paycom Center to overtake the world No. 1 rank and set him on course to win his first world title.

Leme’s efforts were headlined by his 92-point ride on Bullseye. The ride marked his then fourth 90-point ride of the season, allowing Leme to earn his sixth round victory, both league bests.

In the weeks that followed PBR’s 2020 stop in Oklahoma City, Leme’s dominance continued.

While he briefly surrendered the world No. 1 rank, surpassed by fellow Brazilian star Vieira for one week, the former semi-professional soccer player who had finished second the previous two seasons was seemingly unstoppable, determined to finish the season with nothing less than the coveted gold PBR World Championship buckle. 

Leme would win a league-leading seven elite tour events and 16 rounds, going a torrid 44-for-65 in covering a superlative 67.69% of the planet’s rankest bovine athletes en route to the 2020 PBR World Championship.

In 2021, Leme’s dominance continued.

Shattering nearly every record throughout his campaign, Leme punctuated the year with the 2021 PBR World Championship. Leme is now just the second back-to-back PBR World Champion in league history, joining three-time PBR World Champion Silvano Alves (Pilar do Sul, Brazil), who won his first two titles in 2011-2012, and seventh multi-time PBR World Champion.

In his last out of the season, competing in the face of a nagging groin injury, Leme obliterated the league’s all-time high-marked ride record, a record he previously broke in August. Teaming with 2021 YETI PBR World Champion Bull Woopaa (Barker Bulls/Hookin’ W Ranch) for an unprecedented 98.75-point score, Leme earned the first-ever 50-point score awarded to a rider.

Throughout 2021, Leme went a torrid 49-for-71, covering 69.01% of his animal athlete opponents. In addition to setting a new high-score record, Leme also broke the season record for most 90-point rides (24) and round wins (21), and tied the season record for most event wins (8).

Other past riders to capture the buckle in one of the most popular long-standing stops on the circuit include: Ryan Dirteater (2019, 2018); Derek Kolbaba (2017), Fabiano Vieira (2016), Matt Triplett (2015), Nathan Schaper (2014), Sean Willingham (2013), Valdiron de Olivera (2012), Paulo Lima (2011), Jordan Hupp (2010), Ednei Caminhas (2009), Jody Newberry (2006), Ross Johnson (2005), Brendon Clark (2004), Gilbert Carrillo (2003), Justin Volz (2002), Jason Bennett (2001, 2000) and the inaugural event champion Tater Porter (1999).

The bull riding action for the PBR Express Ranches Invitational begins with Round 1 at 7:45 p.m. CST on Friday, February 11, followed by Round 2 and the championship round at 6:45 p.m. CST on Saturday, February 12. All competing bull riders will get on one bull each in Rounds 1-2. Following Round 2 Saturday evening, the riders’ individual two scores will be totaled. The Top 12 will advance to the championship round for one more out and a chance at the event title.

Tickets for the two-day event go on sale Monday, November 22 at 10:00 a.m. CDT and start at $20, taxes and fees not included. Fans are encouraged to purchase their tickets early, with all price levels increasing $5 on event day. Tickets can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com and PBR.com or by calling PBR customer service at 1-800-732-1727.

Two-day ticket packages will also be available, offering fans up to a 20% discount on select price levels.

PBR Elite Seats are available for avid fans who want an exclusive VIP experience while enjoying the world’s top bull riding circuit. These tickets, available in two tiers, offer premium seats, a question-and-answer presentation with some of the top bull riders and stock contractors in the world, a behind-the-scenes look at the event from the back of the bucking chutes, a $10 concession voucher, an exclusive merchandise item and a souvenir credential and lanyard.

The PBR VIP Elite Seats, available for $350, also include a post-show photo opportunity from the dirt, and the PBR Elite Experience Seats are priced at $250.

For an enhanced PBR experience, fans can now purchase add-on PBR Premium Experiences which will include the Elite Experience on both Friday, February 11, and Saturday, February 12.

The Elite Experience, available for $75, will include a Q&A session with a select group of the league’s top riders, bullfighters and stock contractors, a pre-event photo on the bucking chutes, an arena concession voucher and a commemorative credential and lanyard.

For more information on PBR Elite Seats and PBR Premium Experiences, or to purchase the Elite Experience for the PBR Express Ranches Invitational in Oklahoma City, visit https://pbr.com/tickets/premium-experiences/.