DULUTH, Ga. – In front of an electric Saturday night crowd in Duluth, Georgia, at Gas South Arena, two-time PBR (Professional Bull Riders) World Champion Jess Lockwood (Volborg, Montana) was triumphant in his premier series return, tying for the Round 1 win at the Gwinnett Chute Out alongside surging young gun Koltin Hevalow (Smithville, Missouri).

“I’m glad to be riding bulls again,” Lockwood said from the Can-Am Cage. “And glad to be riding on the biggest stage in the world.”

“This is a big moment,” Hevalow said. “I’ve been working on this a long time. I’m happy to be up here with one of my favorites.”

Lockwood, who had last competed on the PBR’s premier series in February 2022, was a picture of perfection aboard Spotted Rust (Blake Sharp). Remaining in perfect time with the powerful animal athlete, Lockwood reached the requisite 8 for a commanding 88.25 points.

Later in the round, Hevalow matched the score when he conquered Spotted Demon (Universal Pro Rodeo/Rachel & Dustin Powell).

Both Lockwood and Hevalow earned a crucial 23 Unleash The Beast points for their qualified rides.

Unranked prior to the tour stop, Lockwood vaulted to No. 42 in the race for the 2023 PBR World Championship.

Hevalow climbed from No. 25 to No. 21 in the standings.

Derek Kolbaba (Walla Walla, Washington) finished third courtesy of his 88-point ride atop Chanler’s Dream (Universal Pro Rodeo/Rachel & Dustin Powell).

The Washington native’s opening score garnered him 17 Unleash The Beast points and he elevated two positions in the standings from No. 20 to No. 18 as he chases his first gold buckle at season’s end.

Fourth was 2018 PBR World Champion Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil).

The “Ice Man” proved the more dominant athlete in his showdown with YETI Yonder (Bob & Jeri Adams/D&H Cattle Co.), reaching the whistle for 87.5 points.

Pacheco garnered 16 Unleash The Beast points, allowing him to crack the Top 10 in the Unleash The Beast World Championship race, climbing from No. 12 to No. 10. He is now within 236.5 points of No. 1 Andrew Alvidrez (Seminole, Texas).

Alvidrez stumbled in Round 1 of the PBR Gwinnett Chute Out, failing to add to his lead when he was bucked off by Nigel (Hale/Ogden/Hart Cattle Co.) in a heartbreaking 7.23 seconds.

Rounding out the Top 5 in fifth was Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil).

Vieira covered Whiplash (Blake Sharp/Floyd Lowry/CB & Traci Lee) for 87.25 points to earn 15 Unleash The Beast points.

Action for the PBR Gwinnett Chute Out will conclude with Round 2 and the championship round on Sunday, Jan. 22. Action gets underway 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 Gwinnett Chute Out Gas South Arena – Duluth, Georgia  Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points) 1. Koltin Hevalow, 88.25-0-0-88.25-23 Points. (tie). Jess Lockwood, 88.25-0-0-88.25-23 Points. 3. Derek Kolbaba, 88-0-0-88.00-17 Points. 4. Kaique Pacheco, 87.5-0-0-87.50-16 Points. 5. João Ricardo Vieira, 87.25-0-0-87.25-15 Points. 6. Bob Mitchell, 87-0-0-87.00-14 Points. 7. Dener Barbosa, 86.5-0-0-86.50-12.5 Points. (tie). Alex Cerqueira, 86.5-0-0-86.50-12.5 Points. 9. Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 86.25-0-0-86.25-10.5 Points. (tie). Manoelito de Souza Junior, 86.25-0-0-86.25-10.5 Points. 11. Ednei Caminhas, 85.25-0-0-85.25-9 Points. 12. Ezekiel Mitchell, 84-0-0-84.00-8 Points. Andrew Alvidrez, 0-0-0-0.00 Jose Vitor Leme, 0-0-0-0.00 Daniel Keeping, 0-0-0-0.00 Rafael Jose de Brito, 0-0-0-0.00 Thiago Salgado, 0-0-0-0.00 Mason Taylor, 0-0-0-0.00 Silvano Alves, 0-0-0-0.00 Dalton Kasel, 0-0-0-0.00 Eduardo Aparecido, 0-0-0-0.00 Jesse Petri, 0-0-0-0.00 Boudreaux Campbell, 0-0-0-0.00 Luciano De Castro, 0-0-0-0.00 Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0.00 Colten Fritzlan, 0-0-0-0.00 Sandro Batista, 0-0-0-0.00 Eli Vastbinder, 0-0-0-0.00 Braidy Randolph, 0-0-0-0.00 Tate Pollmeier, 0-0-0-0.00 Chase Outlaw, 0-0-0-0.00 Casey Roberts, 0-0-0-0.00 Dakota Louis, 0-0-0-0.00 Wyatt Rogers, 0-0-0-0.00 Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 0-0-0-0.00 Conner Halverson, 0-0-0-0.00 Alex Marcilio, 0-0-0-0.00 Dalton Rudman, 0-0-0-0.00 Kyler Oliver, 0-0-0-0.00 Alisson De Souza, 0-0-0-0.00 Jake Morinec, 0-0-0-0.00

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media