PUEBLO, Colo. – This past weekend at the Tractor Supply Co. PBR Chicago in Rosemont, Illinois, Cassio Dias notched his third event win of the 2024 season.
If it seems like he’s winning at an unreal clip… well, that’s because he is.
Dias broke into the PBR last summer with the Kansas City Outlaws in PBR Teams, placing second in the regular-season MVP race and helping the Outlaws to a No. 2 finish in the regular-season standings.
Now, in his rookie year on the Unleash The Beast, he’s won three times in his first nine attempts – an astounding 33.3% winning percentage.
Simply winning three events in a season is an incredible feat. It seems to be standard issue for two-time World Champion Jose Vitor Leme, but he was the only rider to do it in 2023. As for how long it took him to earn his first three event wins? Thirty-three events. Leme debuted at the 2017 PBR World Finals, which he won, and didn’t win his third event until March of 2019.
It took two-time World Champion Jess Lockwood 20 events to win three.
It took 2016 World Champion Cooper Davis 40 events.
It took 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco 21 events.
It even took two-time World Champion J.B. Mauney 31 events.
All these riders won their respective Rookie of the Year races (except Davis, who finished second to Pacheco), so they came out of the gate hot.
So what Dias is doing is not only incredible but also historic. In fact, Dias reached three career event wins faster than any other rider in PBR history dating back to 2000, as far as our records go.
RELATED: By the Numbers: Cassio Dias racking up records ahead of 150th career out
Read on for the three fastest riders to three event wins since 2000. And, sure, it’s an arbitrary stat, but it’s hard to argue with a list that includes a three-time World Champion and arguably the best rider to never win a world title.
Cassio Dias could be on the road to a career for the ages.
1. Cassio Dias – three wins in nine events
Dias is still brand new to the PBR scene, but he’s already put together quite a resume. In addition to his three event wins in his first nine attempts, he’s the 2022 PBR Brazil Champion, a first-round pick in the 2023 PBR Teams draft, and went a stunning 19-for-26 (73%) with five 90-point rides to earn two event MVP titles in his first Teams season. Thus far on the Unleash The Beast, he’s an incredible 20-for-30 (66%) and leads not just the Rookie of the Year race but also the world title race.
RELATED: Who is Kansas City Outlaws superstar Cassio Dias?
2. Joao Ricardo Vieira – three wins in 10 events
Vieira may not have won a World Championship – yet! – but man, he could’ve. He’s finished in the Top 5 of the world standings eight times since his Rookie of the Year season in 2013, placing second twice and third three times. He’s also the richest PBR rider never to have won a world title, with well over $3 million in career earnings. Vieira won his third event on April 21, 2013, chipping in a 15/15 Bucking Battle victory that season as well. He is the eighth-most winningest PBR rider with 18 career victories so far, and he holds the record for most 15/15 wins with eight. At 39 years old, Vieira is still outpacing most of the field and showing the young kids how it’s done – this past season, he notched his 400th career ride. While he’s currently ranked No. 19 in the Unleash The Beast World Championship standings, he could still nab that long-awaited gold buckle.
RELATED: Vieira becomes eighth rider in PBR history to record 400 qualified rides
3. Silvano Alves – three wins in 14 events
Silvano Alves is, without a doubt, one of the greatest bull riders in PBR history. One of two three-time World Champions, he became just the fourth rider to reach 500 rides on the premier series this past October. He’s right behind Vieira on the all-time wins leaderboard, sitting at No. 9 with 15 wins. Alves won his third event on October 3, 2010, as he was en route to Rookie of the Year honors. Following gold buckles in 2011, 2012 and 2014, Alves is No. 2 on the all-time money-earners leaderboard with more than $6.6 million.
RELATED: Silvano Alves becomes fourth rider in history to reach 500 qualified rides
The Unleash The Beast next heads to Tulsa, Oklahoma, for the Express Ranches PBR Tulsa, presented by Hard Rock Hotel & Casino, on Jan. 19-20. Action kicks off with Round 1 on Jan. 19 at 8:45 p.m. ET on RidePass on Pluto TV. Tune in to see what Dias does next in his pursuit of history.
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
