ST. LOUIS, Mo. – In front of an electric Sunday afternoon crowd inside the Enterprise Center, Cassio Dias (Sao F. de Sales, Brazil) reached a crucial career milestone, delivering a flawless 3-for-3 effort to win his career-first Unleash The Beast event, victorious at PBR (Professional Bull Riders) St. Louis and vaulting to the world No. 1 rank.
In another career-first, Dias logged his first 90-point ride in Unleash The Beast competition inside the home of the NHL’s St. Louis Blues, capping his efforts with a monstrous 90.5-point ride to also win the championship round.
The 22-year-old rising superstar is now 6-for-6 through the first two events of the 23-event Unleash The Beast regular season.
“It’s hard to believe and a dream come true for me that shows how much my hard work and everything I put in day by day has paid off here with the best in the world,” Dias said from the dirt following his win via translator Paulo Crimber.
As action got underway, Dias, who rides for the Kansas City Outlaws in the separate PBR Teams League, and finished second in the 2023 Teams MVP race, first put points on the board when he delivered the second-best score of Round 1, topping Buzz (Flinn Cattle Co.) for 87.5 points.
The reserved Brazilian then retained his second-place position on the leaderboard in Round 2 when he reached the requisite 8 atop Hunted Down (Martinez Bucking Bulls, LLC) for 86.25 points.
With the second pick in the championship round bull draft, Dias elected to go head-to-head with Mike’s Motive (Blake Sharp/High Voltage/Wetzel/Knott). In a decision which proved dividends, Dias matched the powerful animal athlete jump-for-jump en route to the whistle as the crowd erupted in raucous cheer.
Dias was awarded an event-best 90.5 points, cementing his victory.
With the golden finish, Dias earned $44,691, in addition to a crucial 137 Unleash The Beast points. Ranked No. 6 prior to the event, Dias catapulted to the world No. 1 rank, now 60.5 points ahead of new No. 2 Caden Bunch (Tahlequah, Oklahoma).
Bunch, who won the 2024 season-launch Unleash The Beast event in Tucson, Arizona, was unable to continue his momentum in St. Louis, going 0-for-2. After bucking off Soul King (Blake Sharp/Cody Gill/Marcus Cannon) in 2.53 seconds in Round 1, he was tossed by Ivy League (Jane Clark/Gene Owen) in 2.18 seconds in Round 2.
Alan de Souza (Taubate, Brazil) was second, earning 74.5 Unleash The Beast points.
The Nashville Stampede’s Souza got off to a quick start in the Show Me State, riding Redneck (New Frontier Rodeo) for 82 points in Round 1, before conquering Blood Moon (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Mark Baker) for 80.75 points in Round 2.
In the championship round, Souza then became the first rider to cover all three of his draws when he bested UTZ BesTex Legend (Blake Sharp/Chris Utz/Carey Brothers) for 88.5 points. Souza is just the third rider in 30 outs to cover the YETI World Champion Bull contender, and the score snapped the bovine athlete’s 18-out buckoff streak.
While Souza travelled to the Show Me State unranked, he’s now No. 7 in the world, 111 points behind No. 1 Dias.
The Arizona Ridge Riders’ Eduardo Aparecido (Gouvelandia, Brazil) parlayed a 2-for-3 effort at PBR St. Louis into a third-place finish.
Aparecido dominated Round 1 of competition, covering Risky Business (Hookin’ W Ranch/Diamond L) for 88.25 points.
Despite the strong start, Aparecido stumbled in Round 2, upended by Red Scorpion (Lari Crane/Gene Owen) in a quick 2.23 seconds.
Determined, Aparecido returned in the championship round with newfound focus as he readied to take on Preachers Kid (K-C Bucking Bulls/RD Cattle). In what proved to be an ideal pairing, Aparecido appeared a picture of perfection atop the bull, making the whistle for 88.75 points.
Aparecido’s bronze showing garnered him a much-needed 82 points. He surged from unranked to No. 6 in the world, inching within 103.5 points of No. 1 Dias.
Fourth was the Missouri Thunder’s Paulo Eduardo Rosseto (Colorado, Brazil). Impressing the crowd in St. Louis as he rode with each of his hands across the two days of competition, Rosseto earned 52.5 Unleash The Beast points.
Rosseto bucked off in Round 1, thrown by Rustic Pearl (Hookin’ W Ranch) in 1.92 seconds, but he was quick to rebound.
The 26-year-old Brazilian first struck in Round 2 when he rode Wooderson (Blake Sharp) for 87.75 points to punch his ticket to the championship round. Continuing to thrill, Rosseto then delivered his second score in as many attempts when he rode Tijuana Two-Step (Blake Sharp/Michael Floyd) for 88.5 points.
Rosseto rose six positions in the standings, climbing from No. 14 to No. 8, now 119.5 points back of No. 1 Dias.
Rounding out the Top 5 in fifth was Missouri’s own Bob Mitchell (Steelville, Missouri) who also rides for the Show Me State’s Kansas City Outlaws.
Mitchell was the event-leader entering the championship round courtesy of his 86-point ride on Ah Hell (Cooper/Scruggs Bucking Bulls) and 88.25-point score aboard Buffalo Heifer (Sterk Bucking Bulls).
In the championship round, Mitchell fell short of his first Unleash The Beast event win when he was bested by UTZ BesTex Smokestack (Blake Sharp/Chris Utz/Carey Brothers) in 3.28 seconds.
Mitchell earned 47.5 Unleash The Beast points, rising from No. 23 to No. 10 in the world. The 2022 PBR Rookie of the Year is now within 131 points of teammate and world No. 1 Dias.
In the bull pen, Man Hater (Jane Clark/Gene Owen) was crowned the YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the Event. Bucking in the championship round, the powerful animal athlete posted an event-best 46.5-point bull score for his 2.08 seconds of work against the Austin Gamblers’ Dalton Kasel (Muleshoe, Texas).
The PBR Unleash The Beast next travels to 1st SUMMIT ARENA @ Cambria County War Memorial in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, for PBR Johnstown. The event will be on Friday, December 8 at 7:45 p.m. EST, Saturday, December 9, at 6:45 p.m. EST and Sunday, December 10, 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 St. Louis
Enterprise Center – St. Louis, Missouri
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Cassio Dias, 87.5-86.25-90.5-264.25-137 Points.
2. Alan de Souza, 82-80.75-88.5-251.25-74.5 Points.
3. Eduardo Aparecido, 88.25-0-88.75-177.00-82 Points.
4. Paulo Eduardo Rosseto, 0-87.75-88.5-176.25-52.5 Points.
5. Bob Mitchell, 86-88.25-0-174.25-47.5 Points.
6. Sage Steele Kimzey, 86-87-0-173.00-36 Points.
(tie). Braidy Randolph, 85.75-87.25-0-173.00-35 Points.
8. João Lucas Campos, 84-88.75-0-172.75-31.5 Points.
9. Daylon Swearingen, 84.75-86.75-0-171.50-25 Points.
10. Rafael dos Santos, 0-90-0-90.00-31 Points.
11. Dalton Kasel, 0-88.75-0-88.75-18.5 Points.
12. Ednélio Almeida, 0-87-0-87.00-12.5 Points.
13. Jose Vitor Leme, 86.25-0-0-86.25-17 Points.
14. Dener Barbosa, 86-0-0-86.00-14.5 Points.
(tie). Brady Fielder, 86-0-0-86.00-14.5 Points.
16. Brady Oleson, 85.5-0-0-85.50-11 Points.
17. Silvano Alves, 0-85.25-0-85.25-9 Points.
Caden Bunch, 0-0-0-0.00
João Ricardo Vieira, 0-0-0-0.00
John Crimber, 0-0-0-0.00
Wyatt Rogers, 0-0-0-0.00
Andrew Alvidrez, 0-0-0-0.00
Kyler Oliver, 0-0-0-0.00
Kaiden Loud, 0-0-0-0.00
Thiago Salgado, 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Cerqueira, 0-0-0-0.00
Daniel Keeping, 0-0-0-0.00
Austin Richardson, 0-0-0-0.00
Lucas Divino, 0-0-0-0.00
Conner Halverson, 0-0-0-0.00
Trace Redd, 0-0-0-0.00
Julio Cesar Marques, 0-0-0-0.00
Boudreaux Campbell, 0-0-0-0.00
Jesse Petri, 0-0-0-0.00
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0.00
Luciano De Castro, 0-0-0-0.00
Koltin Hevalow, 0-0-0-0.00
Flavio Zivieri, 0-0-0-0.00
Vitor Losnake, 0-0-0-0.00
Ednei Caminhas, 0-0-0-0.00
2024 PBR Unleash The Beast World Finals Standings
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5's, Points, Total Winnings)
1. Cassio Dias, 2, 1, 1, 185.50, $51,063.00
2. Caden Bunch, 2, 1, 1, 125.00, $41,955.17
3. Sage Steele Kimzey, 2, 0, 1, 121.50, $18,569.17
4. Jose Vitor Leme, 2, 0, 1, 91.00, $12,013.67
5. João Ricardo Vieira, 2, 0, 1, 87.00, $16,237.67
6. Eduardo Aparecido, 1, 0, 1, 82.00, $15,691.00
7. Alan de Souza, 1, 0, 1, 74.50, $17,665.00
8. Paulo Eduardo Rosseto, 2, 0, 1, 66.00, $9,279.50
9. Cody Jesus, 1, 0, 1, 57.00, $6,451.67
10. Bob Mitchell, 2, 0, 1, 54.50, $5,690.00
11. Brady Oleson, 2, 0, 0, 43.50, $3,025.00
12. Ednélio Almeida, 2, 0, 0, 43.00, $3,737.50
13. Braidy Randolph, 1, 0, 0, 35.00, $3,250.00
14. Daylon Swearingen, 2, 0, 0, 33.00, $1,000.00
15. João Lucas Campos, 1, 0, 0, 31.50, $3,723.00
16. Dalton Kasel, 2, 0, 0, 31.00, $3,648.00
16. Rafael dos Santos, 2, 0, 0, 31.00, $4,580.00
18. John Crimber, 2, 0, 0, 28.33, $4,246.67
19. Wyatt Rogers, 2, 0, 0, 21.50, $1,000.00
20. Andrew Alvidrez, 2, 0, 0, 21.33, $3,342.00
20. Kyler Oliver, 2, 0, 0, 21.33, $3,342.00
22. Kaiden Loud, 2, 0, 0, 15.00, $810.00
23. Dener Barbosa, 1, 0, 0, 14.50, $790.00
23. Brady Fielder, 1, 0, 0, 14.50, $790.00
25. Thiago Salgado, 2, 0, 0, 11.00, $0.00
26. Alex Cerqueira, 2, 0, 0, 9.50, $0.00
27. Silvano Alves, 1, 0, 0, 9.00, $0.00
28. Daniel Keeping, 2, 0, 0, 8.00, $0.00
28. Austin Richardson, 2, 0, 0, 8.00, $0.00
28. Lucas Divino, 2, 0, 0, 8.00, $0.00
28. Conner Halverson, 2, 0, 0, 8.00, $0.00
32. Trace Redd, 2, 0, 0, 7.00, $0.00
32. Julio Cesar Marques, 2, 0, 0, 7.00, $0.00
34. Boudreaux Campbell, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
34. Jesse Petri, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
34. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
34. Luciano De Castro, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
34. Chase Dougherty, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
34. Ezekiel Mitchell, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
34. Eli Vastbinder, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
34. Koltin Hevalow, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
34. Flavio Zivieri, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
34. Casey Roberts, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
34. Vitor Losnake, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
34. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
34. Briggs Madsen, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
34. Ednei Caminhas, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
34. Cladson Rodolfo, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
34. Jean Fernandes Pereira, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
