CHICAGO – Kyler Oliver’s PBR Major victory at the Monster Energy Buck Off at the Garden a week ago will give him as good a chance as anyone right now to have a place in the World Championship race at Dickies Arena this coming May.
However, one event win – even a PBR Major – does not guarantee any future gold-buckle success.
“It is a pretty cool experience, and I always wanted to be No. 1,” Oliver said before the start of the PBR Tractor Supply Co. Invitational at Allstate Arena in Chicago. “I don’t know if it has totally set in yet. I try not to think about it and watch the standings.”
So how would the young 22-year-old respond to being the No. 1-ranked bull rider in the world for the first time in his brief career?
How about posting by posting a 90-point ride on Diddy Wa Diddy in his first-ever 15/15 Bucking Battle less than a week after winning the New York City event with a 91-point ride on Bentley.
“I just told myself, ‘Just keep riding,’” Oliver said. “He was kind of popping me up, shaking me loose, and I was kicking loose, and just kind of letting the power go. And during rides like that, you just try to hold onto everything sometimes. It gets to be too much. So I was just kind of kicking loose, just counter-moves and balance, forward and back. As simple as possible.”
Fans can watch the 15/15 Bucking Battle from Chicago Sunday on CBS national television at 3 p.m. ET.
Oliver was the big surprise in New York City, and he has quickly added himself to a mix of young rising stars to keep an eye on in 2022.
“The only time I feel more pressure is having more of these interviews and being on schedule and presentable for this stuff,” Oliver said with a bashful laugh. “I need to know what I am talking about. That is the thing that I am not used to. I am used to riding bulls and, on a smaller scale, like high school and amateur levels, being in a championship race. Bull riding is always the same. You just have to keep it simple and stay in the middle.
“It is just bull by bull. Interviews and intros, that is the hardest part right now.”
The second-year pro will take a 57-point lead on No. 2 Joao Ricardo Vieira into Round 2 on Saturday night after bucking off Stunt Man Ray in 3.06 seconds during Round 1.
Oliver has drawn Off Campus for Round 2.
Vieira and Oliver lead the PBR with two 90-point rides apiece.
There are a handful of heavy hitters out of competition in Chicago, including reigning two-time World Champion Jose Vitor Leme, which means the door of opportunity may be open a little wider than normal this weekend.
“Every event is an opportunity to gobble up points whether he is here or not, but he is a heavy hitter, and he is going to come and show up and show out, and he is probably going to do really good at every event he is at,” Oliver said. “Him not being here is an advantage to us for sure, but it is the same with a lot of guys here who can put up 90 points and win this event.
“I am just worrying about every bull as it comes. Just ride 8 seconds. That is the name of the game. If you stay on your bull, they will pay you, and you will get those points.”
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media