As PBR's Unleash The Beast tour prepares to invade Manchester, New Hampshire, Dec. 15-16 during the fourth event of the 2024 premier series campaign, the best bull riders in the world are set to compete inside SNHU Arena throughout the two-day, three-round showdown:

THE ICE MAN RETURNS: 2018 PBR World Champion Kaique Pacheco returns to action this weekend in Manchester, New Hampshire, after missing the first three events of the 2024 season. Pacheco has been recovering from a broken tibia and fibula that he suffered in Tacoma, Washington, in April, and then re-aggravated during the 2023 PBR Teams season with the Nashville Stampede. Before suffering the injury, Pacheco took over the No. 1 spot in the Unleash The Beast standings and was in prime position to win his second gold buckle. Despite missing the final few weeks of the season, including the PBR World Finals, the Brazilian cowboy still finished No. 3 in the Unleash The Beast standings in 2023. The veteran was an impressive 30-for-62 (48%) throughout the season and put together nine Top-5 finishes, including bringing home event buckles in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and Duluth, Georgia. After going 2-for-3 and finishing seventh in Manchester last December, Pacheco begins another quest for his second gold buckle by taking on Squealin’ Cat in Round 1 on Friday

DIAS DOMINATION: Cassio Dias continued his red-hot start to the 2024 Unleash The Beast season by going 3-for-4 and winning his second-straight event in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, last weekend. In Round 1, the Brazilian topped The Judge for 89.25 points and tied for third entering the second day of action. On Saturday, the Kansas City Outlaws’ rising superstar in the separate PBR Teams league was unseated for the first time this season, as Train Station shook him off the track to perfection in 4.07 seconds. Undeterred, Dias stormed back, making the 8 for 86.25 points on Strong Arm in Round 3 and winning the championship round with a monstrous, career-high, 91.75 points on Cy Young to overtake the lead. The event leader for most of the weekend, No. 2 Cody Jesus, attempted to continue his own flawless start to the season but had a bad break after starting the weekend 3-for-3. Unable to get out of the chutes with his chosen animal athlete opponent in the championship round, Jesus was assigned Red Scorpion and was called for a slap at the 2.25-second mark, ending his quest for the event buckle. Dias is paired with Coolio in Manchester in Round 1 Friday, while Jesus takes on Panic Button

Fans can tune into this weekend's PBR Manchester beginning Friday night, with Round 1 set to begin Friday, Dec. 15 at 7:45 p.m. EST airing live via RidePass on Pluto TV. Round 2 is primed to start at 6:45 p.m. EST on Saturday, Dec. 16, followed by the championship go, with all of Championship Sunday's action set to debut on CBS Sports Network. 

Photo courtesy of Todd Brewer/Bull Stock Media