As the PBR's Unleash The Beast bucks into Eugene, Oregon’s Matthew Knight Arena Feb. 17-18 as the midway point of the 2023 campaign quickly approaches, PBR.com is highlighting some of the series’ latest winners, top competitors and beyond as the Unleash The Beast rages on!
RIDING IN THE VAST LANE: Eli Vastbinder enters the weekend after winning his first premier series event, going a perfect 3-for-3 in Tulsa, Oklahoma. He wowed the crowd with an impressive 90.5-point ride atop Tulsa Time in the championship round to jump 126 points in the Unleash The Beast World Championship rankings, where he now sits at No. 16, 435.5 points behind leader Jose Vitor Leme. The Statesville, North Carolina, native started his perfect weekend with a solid 85.25-point ride atop Lapua before taking advantage of a re-ride to dance with Mighty Mike for 87.25 points. The 90.5-point ride in the championship round marks the veteran’s seventh 90-point ride on the Unleash The Beast and ties his third-highest-marked ride, a 90.5-point romp aboard Taking Chances. Vastbinder is slated to face Lil Hott in Round 1 Friday night, who bucked him off in just 2.81 seconds in the pair’s only previous matchup
TABLE FOR THREE: While the two-time World Champion saw his six-out ride streak end in the championship round in Tulsa, his 2-for-3 weekend pushed him to 645.5 points in the Unleash The Beast standings, 167 points above No. 2 Andrew Alvidrez, who remained in second place despite missing the event due to injury. The current points leader is seeking his third world title, and if he can continue to cover nearly 70 percent of his bulls (currently, 68.2%), Las Vegas will like his odds of completing the trifecta. The experienced veteran has a matchup looming with the ever-respected Chiseled in Round 1, the first pairing between the two since Leme bested the bovine for a rank ride a few years back
REMATCHES GALORE: Round 1 in Eugene will feature an incredible 14 rematches, most notably Leme and Chiseled, who paired up for a magical 94 points the only other time they have been matched up together, in Salt Lake City, Utah, in 2020. So far in 2023, Chiseled has been unable to buck off a rider in his two outs, but both have been high-scoring rides. Rafael Henrique dos Santos danced with the animal athlete for 90 points in Duluth before Dalton Kasel won the 15/15 Bucking Battle in Sacramento by lasting the 8 on Chiseled for 88.25 points. Among the other rematches are Ramon de Lima and Baby Gangster, who is looking to continue his rampage and is currently sporting a seven-out buck off streak. The last rider who was able to hang on to him is none other than Lima himself, last February
For all of the statistics, stories and standings heading into this weekend's PBR Kubota Emerald Chute Out, be sure to check out this week's Game Notes!
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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