ST. LOUIS – After being involved in a vicious wreck last weekend that sidelined him for the main event, young gun Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York) returned in dominant fashion as the elite PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Unleash The Beast bucked into St. Louis, winning Round 1 of the PBR TicketSmarter Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires.
Swearingen drew Hurts So Good (Cord McCoy/David Wolfe) as his first bull back after his helmet was shattered when he was stepped on last weekend in Oklahoma City. Poised, the burgeoning New Yorker matched the animal athlete jump-for-jump, making the requisite 8 for an evening-best 89.75 points.
Swearingen’s score netted him a crucial 28 world points, allowing him to rise from No. 4 to No. 3 in the world standings. He now trails No. 1 Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil) by 158.84 points.
While Vieira exited Enterprise Center still atop the world standings, his lead was once again lessened by a hard-charging No. 2 Kyler Oliver (Roy, Utah).
As the penultimate man to leave the chutes inside the home of the NHL’s St. Louis Blues, Oliver tied for seventh in the round when he covered Mr. Winston (Dakota Rodeo/Mark Baker/Clay Struve/Chad Berger) for 86.75 points.
Vieira, however, was unable to answer the effort, bested by Simon (Bierema Rodeo Inc.) in 5.11 seconds.
Oliver, who netted 12.5 world points for his score, closed within 91 points of the top ranking after traveling to the Show-Me State 103.5 points back.
The season is shaping to be a career-best for the 22-year-old who rode at a mere seven events in 2021 before he was sidelined for the remainder of the campaign after undergoing reconstructive shoulder surgery.
Vieira is now mired in a four-out buckoff streak. Chasing history in 2022, should Vieira be crowned the World Champion at season’s end, he would become the oldest rider to win the coveted gold buckle at 37.
Defending PBR TicketSmarter Invitational event winner Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil) also converted in Round 1. He tied with Oliver for seventh place after riding T-Bone (Hart Cattle Company) for a matching 86.75 points.
Compliments of the 12.5 world points Leme collected, he inched closer to the world’s Top 10. Remaining No. 11 in the world, he is now just 12 points behind No. 10 Austin Richardson (Dallas, Texas).
Should Leme once again be crowned the PBR World Champion in 2022, the former semi-professional soccer player would become the first rider in history to win the honor in three consecutive seasons and just the third three-time PBR World Champion.
Rafael Henrique dos Santos (Sebastianopolis, Brazil) was second in the opening round of competition.
He rode Mike’s Motive (Blake Sharp/High Voltage Cattle/American Spirits/Koe Wetzel) for 89.5 points to net 18 world points.
Santos gained five positions in the world standings, climbing from No. 34 to No. 29.
Third was Mauricio Moreira (Gaviao Peixoto, Brazil).
Outlasting WSM’s Scary Larry (WSM Auctioneers/Clay Struve/Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger) for 89.25 points, Moreira left Enterprise Center Friday evening having earned 17 world points.
The 22-year-old maintained his world No. 8 rank and now trails the No. 1 spot by 234 points.
Courtesy of an 88.5-point ride on Bottom’s Up (TCB Ranch/K-C Bucking Bulls), Luciano de Castro (Guzolandia, Brazil) was fourth.
Castro collected 16 world points for his 8 seconds of work. While he remained No. 7 in the world, he inched within 229.5 points of No. 1 Vieira.
Rounding out the Top 5 in fifth was Derek Kolbaba (Walla Walla, Washington).
Earning a berth to the event as an alternate, Kolbaba needed to record a score to secure a spot in Round 2 on Championship Saturday.
Rising to the occasion, Kolbaba covered Bubba G (Dakota Rodeo/Brian & Ashley Pintar/Clay Struve/Chad Berger) for 88.25 points to punch his ticket to the next round of the tour stop and garner 15 world points.
Kolbaba gained seven positions in the standings, surging from No. 42 to No. 35, and is now within 13.83 points of the Top 30 and a seeded position on the premier Unleash The Beast.
Action for the 2022 PBR TicketSmarter Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, will conclude with Round 2 and the championship round on Saturday, February 19. Action gets underway at 6:45 p.m. CST.
PBR RidePass on Pluto TV will offer re-airs and on-demand replays of every PBR Unleash The Beast event. PBR RidePass is available on desktops, laptops and mobile devices via www.pluto.tv. Tune to channel 720 for the latest programming schedule, and click here for on-demand PBR programming.
PBR Unleash The Beast
PBR TicketSmarter Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires
Enterprise Center – St. Louis, Missouri
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Daylon Swearingen, 89.75-0-0-89.75-28 Points.
2. Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 89.5-0-0-89.50-18 Points.
3. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 89.25-0-0-89.25-17 Points.
4. Luciano De Castro, 88.5-0-0-88.50-16 Points.
5. Derek Kolbaba, 88.25-0-0-88.25-15 Points.
6. Stetson Lawrence, 87.25-0-0-87.25-14 Points.
7. Kyler Oliver, 86.75-0-0-86.75-12.5 Points.
(tie). Jose Vitor Leme, 86.75-0-0-86.75-12.5 Points.
9. Brady Oleson, 86.25-0-0-86.25-11 Points.
10. Silvano Alves, 86-0-0-86.00-10 Points.
11. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 84.25-0-0-84.25-9 Points.
12. Manoelito de Souza Junior, 83.75-0-0-83.75-8 Points.
13. Eli Vastbinder, 82.75-0-0-82.75-8 Points.
14. Ramon de Lima, 82-0-0-82.00-8 Points.
João Ricardo Vieira, 0-0-0-0.00
Dalton Kasel, 0-0-0-0.00
Austin Richardson, 0-0-0-0.00
Mason Taylor, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Teel, 0-0-0-0.00
Bob Mitchell, 0-0-0-0.00
Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 0-0-0-0.00
Marco Eguchi, 0-0-0-0.00
Chase Dougherty, 0-0-0-0.00
Andrew Alvidrez, 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Cardozo, 0-0-0-0.00
Matt Triplett, 0-0-0-0.00
Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-0-0-0.00
Boudreaux Campbell, 0-0-0-0.00
João Henrique Lucas, 0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Louis, 0-0-0-0.00
Brennon Eldred, 0-0-0-0.00
Dawson Branton, 0-0-0-0.00
Francisco Morales, 0-0-0-0.00
Clayton Sellars, 0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0.00
Lane Nobles, 0-0-0-0.00
Koltin Hevalow, 0-0-0-0.00
Jesse Petri, 0-0-0-0.00
Cole Skender, 0-0-0-0.00
Kaique Pacheco, 0-0-0-0.00