ALBANY, N.Y. – Remaining red-hot as PBR’s (Professional Bull Riders) premier series returned to Albany, New York for the first time in 14 years, Andrew Alvidrez (Seminole, Texas) delivered a flawless 3-for-3 effort to earn his second consecutive Unleash The Beast victory, winning the PBR Albany Invitational to overtake the No. 1 rank in the race for the 2023 PBR World Championship.
Also winning the previous elite series event in Manchester, New Hampshire, Alvidrez has now covered his last six bovine athlete opponents en route to surging to the No. 1 rank.
“Just focus on the process,” Alvidrez said from the dirt inside MVP Arena. “I’ve always said bull riding is a sprint marathon with no finish line. I’m here to win. God has blessed me so much. I’m just there to show his glory.”
The charismatic Texan began his march to the top of the Can-Am Cage in Round 1 when he went the distance atop Skull Crusher (Shuler Bucking Bulls) for 87.5 points.
Positioned second on the event leaderboard, Alvidrez then went head-to-head with Red Mosquito (Cord McCoy/Zach Muegge/McCoy Rodeo) in Round 2. Remaining in perfect time with his animal athlete counterpart, the two danced to the 8-second whistle, awarded 87.75 points.
Alvidrez retained his position in the overall event, garnering the second pick in the championship round bull draft. With the early selection, Alvidrez architected a rematch with Pickle Moonshine (Shuler Bucking Bulls).
Alvidrez was bucked off the bull in their first showdown during the PBR Team Series event in Oklahoma City but later covered the powerful animal athlete for a commanding 91 points during the most recent showdown at the league event in Fort Worth, Texas.
In tonight’s rubber match, Alvidrez dominated Pickle Moonshine for a commanding 89.25 points to surge to the event lead. For the second weekend in a row, the final rider out bucked off, and Alvidrez clinched the victory.
The golden finish earned Alvidrez a check for $42,257 and a crucial 132.5 Unleash The Beast points. After travelling to Albany ranked No. 4 in the World Championship race, Alvidrez catapulted to the No. 1 position, now 68.5 points ahead of No. 2 Cooper Davis (Jasper, Texas).
Davis was unable to remain atop the standings after going just 1-for-2 to finish 18th, earning 9 Unleash The Beast points.
While he rode Cousin Eddy (Shuler Bucking Bulls) for 86.25 points in Round 1, the 2016 World Champion bucked off Roc Wit It (Jo- Bucking Bulls/K-C) in 2.57 seconds in Round 2 ending his quest to win the PBR Albany Invitational.
Alvidrez was one of three riders to go a perfect 3-for-3 in the Empire State.
Boudreaux Campbell (Crockett, Texas) converted his perfect performance into a second-place finish, good for $17,965 and 85.5 Unleash The Beast points.
Campbell advanced to the championship round sixth on the event leaderboard after riding Blue Duck (Cord McCoy/Grin/Jacobson/Davis Rodeo Ranch/McCoy Rodeo) for 86.5 points in Round 1 and Show Me Homie (Jo-Z Bucking Bulls/K-C/Spark-lin Acres) for 85.25 points in Round 2.
In the final round, Campbell elected to go head-to-head with The Maverick (Cord McCoy/Birmingham World Deer Expo/McCoy Rodeo). The decision proved dividends, as Campbell rode the bull for 89 points to earn the silver finish.
Campbell surged 12 positions in the gold buckle battle, rising from No. 21 to No. 9. He is now within 198 points of the top position.
Completing the podium in third was three-time PBR World Champion Silvano Alves (Pilar do Sul, Brazil).
Alves rode Skippy (Skippy & Linda Johnson/Jaynes Gang/Hookin’ W Ranch) for 86.75 points in Round 1, before declining a re-ride opportunity in Round 2 when he was marked 78.5 points atop Navajo Joe (M Rafter E Bucking Bulls/T-Ray Bulls).
With the seventh pick in the championship round draft, Alves chose Miller Time (A&E Bucking Bulls/BS Cattle Co.), eager to avenge a heart-breaking 7.91-second buckoff the bull dealt him during Round 1 of the 2022 PBR World Finals.
Reversing his fortunes, Alves covered the bull for 88.75 points.
Alves left Albany with $11,348.33 and 65 Unleash The Beast points.
Chasing his unprecedented fourth World Championship, Alves rose from No. 15 to No. 8, just 195 points back of No. 1 Alvidrez.
Fourth was Mason Taylor (Maypearl, Texas), collecting $12,817 and 77 Unleash The Beast points.
After bucking off The Maverick in 5.78 seconds during Round 1, Taylor returned determined on Championship Friday.
Taylor earned the penultimate position in the championship round when he won Round 2 via an 89-point ride aboard Marciano (Hookin’ W Ranch).
Continuing his dominant form, Taylor won his second consecutive round to conclude the PBR Albany Invitational. He lit up the scoreboard in the championship round, riding Preachers Kid (K-C Bucking Bulls/RD Cattle) for 89.5 points.
Taylor’s 2-for-3 effort allowed him to crack the Top 5 in the 2023 PBR World Championship standings. Climbing from No. 10 to No. 5, he is now 164 points behind No. 1 Alvidrez.
Rounding out the Top 5 in fifth was Rafael Jose de Brito (Potirendaba, Brazil).
Brito was sensational in Round 1, surging to an early event lead after riding J&M’s Yukon (Hookin’ W Ranch) for 88.25 points. He remained atop the leaderboard following the second round of competition courtesy of his 88-point score on CB’s Buck Naked (Mike Miller Bucking Bulls).
The fast-rising Brazilian, however, was unable to conclude the event with a score, bucked off by Top Dollar (Hookin’ W Ranch/DeHoff/VanCleave) in a quick 2.78 seconds.
Brito earned 63 Unleash The Beast points. He remained No. 4 in the standings and now trails No. 1 Alvidrez by 116 points.
In the bull pen, Top Dollar was crowned the YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the Event after delivering a mammoth 46-point score for his outing with Brito.
The PBR Unleash The Beast next travels to Madison Square Garden in New York City for the PBR Monster Energy Buck Off at The Garden, presented by Ariat. The event will be on Friday, January 6 at 7:45 p.m. EST, Saturday, January 7 at 6:45 p.m. EST and Sunday, January 8 at 1:45 p.m. EST.
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. Click here for on-demand PBR programming.
PBR Unleash The Beast
PBR Albany Invitational
MVP Arena – Albany, New York
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Andrew Alvidrez, 87.5-87.75-89.25-264.50-132.5 Points.
2. Boudreaux Campbell, 86.5-85.25-89-260.75-85.5 Points.
3. Silvano Alves, 86.75-78.5-88.75-254.00-65 Points.
4. Mason Taylor, 0-89-89.5-178.50-77 Points.
5. Rafael Jose de Brito, 88.25-88-0-176.25-63 Points.
6. Thiago Salgado, 86-87.75-0-173.75-33.5 Points.
(tie). Koltin Hevalow, 86.75-87-0-173.75-36 Points.
8. Dalton Kasel, 86.75-86-0-172.75-28.5 Points.
9. Braidy Randolph, 82.75-79.5-0-162.25-19 Points.
10. Casey Roberts, 69.25-86.5-0-155.75-14 Points.
11. Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 84.75-67.25-0-152.00-9 Points.
12. Brady Oleson, 0-87.5-0-87.50-15 Points.
13. Tate Pollmeier, 87.25-0-0-87.25-17 Points.
14. Colten Fritzlan, 87-0-0-87.00-15.5 Points.
(tie). Manoelito de Souza Junior, 87-0-0-87.00-15.5 Points.
16. Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-86.75-0-86.75-13 Points.
17. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 86.5-0-0-86.50-10.5 Points.
18. Cooper Davis, 86.25-0-0-86.25-9 Points.
19. Luciano De Castro, 0-86-0-86.00-10.5 Points.
20. Derek Kolbaba, 0-85.75-0-85.75-8.5 Points.
(tie). Eli Vastbinder, 0-85.75-0-85.75-8.5 Points.
22. Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 85.25-0-0-85.25-8 Points.
23. Bob Mitchell, 85-0-0-85.00-8 Points.
(tie). João Ricardo Vieira, 0-85-0-85.00-8 Points.
25. João Henrique Lucas, 0-84.75-0-84.75-8 Points.
26. Jesse Petri, 80.5-0-0-80.50-8 Points.
Daniel Keeping, 0-0-0-0.00
Kaique Pacheco, 0-0-0-0.00
Eduardo Aparecido, 0-0-0-0.00
Chase Outlaw, 0-0-0-0.00
Junior Patrik Souza, 0-0-0-0.00
Wyatt Rogers, 0-0-0-0.00
Dener Barbosa, 0-0-0-0.00
Daylon Swearingen, 0-0-0-0.00
Cole Fischer, 0-0-0-0.00
Taylor Allen, 0-0-0-0.00
2023 PBR Unleash The Beast World Championship Standings
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5's, Points, Total Winnings)
1. Andrew Alvidrez, 30, 2, 3, 334.00, $141,200.88
2. Cooper Davis, 22, 1, 1, 265.50, $95,279.52
3. Daniel Keeping, 21, 1, 2, 235.00, $114,489.90
4. Rafael Jose de Brito, 23, 0, 3, 218.00, $109,528.27
5. Mason Taylor, 38, 0, 1, 170.00, $93,324.34
6. Thiago Salgado, 30, 0, 1, 166.50, $56,486.35
7. Brady Oleson, 13, 1, 1, 158.00, $81,335.00
8. Silvano Alves, 24, 0, 2, 139.00, $197,623.88
9. Boudreaux Campbell, 31, 0, 2, 136.00, $81,338.77
10. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 23, 0, 1, 127.50, $93,407.63
11. Luciano De Castro, 39, 0, 1, 119.50, $169,225.93
12. Dalton Kasel, 29, 0, 1, 116.50, $100,952.00
13. Wingson Henrique da Silva, 23, 0, 1, 116.00, $61,453.52
14. Jesse Petri, 12, 0, 1, 99.50, $35,379.95
15. Sandro Batista, 27, 0, 1, 85.00, $54,372.49
16. Colten Fritzlan, 25, 0, 1, 80.50, $75,681.17
17. Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 17, 0, 1, 77.00, $29,140.89
18. Braidy Randolph, 25, 0, 1, 76.50, $71,806.18
19. Kaique Pacheco, 40, 0, 0, 75.50, $245,815.23
20. Eduardo Aparecido, 30, 0, 0, 65.50, $106,862.11
21. Manoelito de Souza Junior, 18, 0, 0, 61.00, $64,782.66
22. Chase Outlaw, 22, 0, 0, 58.00, $49,640.70
23. Casey Roberts, 30, 0, 0, 54.00, $55,653.98
24. Koltin Hevalow, 24, 0, 0, 52.00, $37,516.67
25. Derek Kolbaba, 38, 0, 0, 43.00, $84,345.97
25. Junior Patrik Souza, 13, 0, 0, 43.00, $19,497.09
27. Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 28, 0, 0, 41.00, $37,576.67
28. Briggs Madsen, 26, 0, 0, 40.00, $56,206.30
29. Marcus Mast, 36, 0, 0, 39.50, $47,246.67
30. Bob Mitchell, 31, 0, 0, 38.00, $43,158.33
31. Vitor Losnake, 19, 0, 0, 37.00, $89,159.96
32. Tate Pollmeier, 17, 0, 0, 31.50, $33,839.07
33. Wyatt Rogers, 5, 0, 0, 29.00, $1,400.00
34. João Henrique Lucas, 27, 0, 0, 26.00, $146,741.49
35. Eli Vastbinder, 35, 0, 0, 20.50, $86,911.41
35. Dener Barbosa, 3, 0, 0, 20.50, $13,000.00
37. Ezekiel Mitchell, 28, 0, 0, 13.00, $55,127.78
38. Cody Jesus, 31, 0, 0, 12.00, $110,351.89
38. Adriano Salgado, 29, 0, 0, 12.00, $42,974.13
40. Daylon Swearingen, 35, 0, 0, 8.00, $100,722.54
40. João Ricardo Vieira, 21, 0, 0, 8.00, $59,066.08
40. Matt Triplett, 20, 0, 0, 8.00, $28,300.71
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
