PUEBLO, Colo. – The PBR’s return to The Pit in Albuquerque for the first time in three years could bring with it a significant impact on the 2022 PBR World Championship race.
The Ty Murray Invitational, presented by The Downs Racetrack and Casino, will be a unique PBR premier series event weekend.
There are two 15/15 Bucking Battles slated for this weekend in Albuquerque, and the PBR has unveiled a different event format to accommodate the top bull riders in the world.
The Top 15 active riders in the world will compete in the two 15/15 Bucking Battles on Friday and Saturday night and automatically qualify for the regular-formatted event on Sunday afternoon.
Meanwhile, the other 30 riders in the event field will compete in two qualifying long rounds on Friday (9:30 p.m. ET on RidePass on Pluto TV) and Saturday night (8:30 p.m. ET on RidePass on Pluto TV). The Top 20 riders from the two long rounds will then advance to compete Sunday against the riders who competed in the 15/15 Bucking Battles. If there are not 20 rides in the long rounds, the remaining draw spots will be based on the pre-event world standings.
The 2022 event winner of the Ty Murray Invitational will be the top rider on two outs on Sunday (8 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network).
Albuquerque could be huge for the world title race as one Top 15 rider could, in theory, sweep the weekend and walk away with up to 265 points toward the world standings.
FRIDAY 15/15 BUCKING BATTLE MATCHUPS
Kaique Pacheco vs. Moonlight Party (5-2, UTB)
Manoelito de Souza Jr. vs. High Brow Cat (16-2, UTB)
Eduardo Aparecido vs. WSM’s Jive Turkey (21-7, UTB)
Chase Dougherty vs. U.S. Border Patrol (7-0, UTB)
Mason Taylor vs. Woopaa (11-10, UTB)
Austin Richardson vs. Night Hawk (18-1, UTB)
Dalton Kasel vs. Hang em High (4-1, UTB)
Eli Vastbinder vs. I’m Busted (28-3, UTB)
Dener Barbosa vs. I’m Legit Too (36-14, UTB)
Luciano de Castro vs. Vanilla Ice (6-0, UTB)
Jose Vitor Leme vs. Mezcal (17-0, UTB)
Mauricio Moreira vs. Oh Dang (4-0, UTB)
Kyler Oliver vs. Pookie Holler (19-3, UTB)
Daylon Swearingen vs. The Punisher (11-1, UTB)
Joao Ricardo Vieira vs. Casper (8-1, UTB)
Fans can watch Friday night’s 15/15 Bucking Battle Saturday at noon ET on CBS national television.
TOP 30 RIDERS OUT OF COMPETITION
No. 7 Stetson Lawrence (neck)
No. 18 Bob Mitchell (shoulder)
No. 23 Brady Oleson (left groin/hip)
No. 30 Cole Melancon (torn right groin)
RIDERS COMPETING VIA EXEMPTION
Ty Murray has a history of inviting a Native American rider to his event, and that tradition will continue this weekend with an invitation extended to No. 66 Cody Jesus.
Jesus made his premier series debut as a Native American invite in 2017 and eventually became a PBR mainstay the following season.
The 23-year-old has drawn Bougie Native (0-0, UTB) for Round 1 on Friday night.
Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour leader Brandon Davis is in the draw courtesy of his Velocity Tour victory at the Bangor Classic on March 11. This weekend is Davis’s fourth career premier series event, and he will take on Total Feeds Bushwacked (41-9, UTB) in search of his first premier series ride.
Meanwhile, Sam Woodall is again competing via an injury exemption as he attempts to get back inside the Top 30. Woodall, the No. 53-ranked rider in the world, is 48.16 points behind the Top 30.
LUCAS HIGHLIGHTS ROUND 1 REMATCHES
Joao Henrique Lucas vs. Detroit Lean (2-0; 86.75 points in Little Rock, Arkansas)
Claudio Montanha Jr. vs. Marquis Metal Works Red Clark (0-2)
Clayton Sellars vs. Secret Weapon (2.48 seconds at Monster Energy Team Challenge)
Lucas Divino vs. Just Another Gangster (3.24 seconds in Duluth, Georgia, in 2020)
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
