CHICAGO – Persevering through travel delays that nearly prevented him from competing inside Allstate Arena, 2022 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) World Champion Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York) rode supreme Friday night in the Windy City, leading the 22-rider contingent who converted to win Round 1 of the Unleash The Beast’s PBR Tractor Supply Co. PBR Chicago.

Swearingen, who landed at nearby Chicago O’Hare International Airport with the event already underway, was tasked with Midnight Magic (Richard & Teri Brain/Jenkins Cattle) as competition got underway. In what proved to be a perfect pairing, Swearingen matched the powerful animal athlete jump-for-jump en route to the requisite 8 as the crowd erupted in raucous cheer.

Awarded an unrivaled 88.25 points, the marks proved enough to earn Swearingen, who rides for the Carolina Cowboys in the separate PBR Teams league, the Round 1 win, in addition to a crucial 28 Unleash The Beast points.

Chasing his second gold buckle at season’s end, Swearingen climbed from No. 25 to No. 21 in the standings.

Current No. 1 Austin Richardson (Dallas, Texas) stumbled in Round 1, bucked off by Slingin’ It (K-C Bucking Bulls) in a swift 1.75 seconds as he exited the arena in visible pain.

No. 2 Cassio Dias (Sao F. de Sales, Brazil) capitalized on the buckoff. Delivering an 87-point ride on IHOP (Next Level Bucking Bulls), the Kansas City Outlaws’ standout tied for fourth in the round to garner 15.5 Unleash The Beast points.

Dias more than halved Richardson’s lead from 28 points to 12.5 points ahead of Championship Saturday for Tractor Supply Co. PBR Chicago.

Returning to the top of the event leaderboard, the Carolina Cowboys’ Boudreaux Campbell (Crockett, Texas) and Arizona Ridge Riders’ Keyshawn Whitehorse (McCracken Spring, Utah) tied for second courtesy of matching 87.25-point rides.

Campbell initially drew Skeeter Peter (Dakota Rodeo/Mark Baker/Clay Struve/Chad Berger), however was awarded a re-ride after being marked just 67 points. Electing to take the re-ride, Campbell next climbed aboard Bubba G (Dakota Rodeo/Brian & Ashley Pintar/Clay Struve/Chad Berger).

Nodding with confidence, Campbell was a near picture of perfection aboard the bull, making the whistle with ease to earn his 87.25-point ride.

For Whitehorse, he delivered an exhilarating ride aboard I’ll Make Ya Famous (K-C Bucking Bulls/Greenlake Cattle) earlier in the evening.

Both Campbell and Whitehorse earned 17.5 Unleash The Beast points. Campbell rose from No. 22 to No. 20, while Whitehorse climbed from No. 48 to No. 42.

Rounding out the Top 5 and tying for fourth alongside Dias was the Nashville Stampede’s Mason Taylor (Maypearl, Texas).

Taylor topped Ninja Cowboy (Universal Pro Rodeo/Rachel & Dustin Powell) for 87 points to earn 15.5 Unleash The Beast points.

Seeking his first World Championship this May, Taylor rose from No. 45 to No. 41 in the standings.

Action for the 2024 Tractor Supply Co. PBR Chicago will conclude with Round 2 and the championship round on Saturday, Jan. 13. Action gets underway at 6:45 p.m. CST.

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 Tractor Supply Co. PBR Chicago Allstate Arena – Chicago, Illinois Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points) 1. Daylon Swearingen, 88.25-0-0-88.25-28 Points. 2. Boudreaux Campbell, 87.25-0-0-87.25-17.5 Points. (tie). Keyshawn Whitehorse, 87.25-0-0-87.25-17.5 Points. 4. Cassio Dias, 87-0-0-87.00-15.5 Points. (tie). Mason Taylor, 87-0-0-87.00-15.5 Points. 6. Cort McFadden, 86.75-0-0-86.75-14 Points. 7. Wyatt Rogers, 86.5-0-0-86.50-13 Points. 8. Conner Halverson, 85.75-0-0-85.75-12 Points. 9. Eduardo Aparecido, 85.5-0-0-85.50-10.5 Points. (tie). Sage Steele Kimzey, 85.5-0-0-85.50-10.5 Points. 11. Brady Fielder, 85-0-0-85.00-8.5 Points. (tie). Eli Vastbinder, 85-0-0-85.00-8.5 Points. 13. Silvano Alves, 84.5-0-0-84.50-8 Points. (tie). Alex Cerqueira, 84.5-0-0-84.50-8 Points. 15. Koltin Hevalow, 84.25-0-0-84.25-8 Points. 16. Flavio Zivieri, 84-0-0-84.00-8 Points. 17. John Crimber, 83.5-0-0-83.50-8 Points. (tie). Lucas Divino, 83.5-0-0-83.50-8 Points. 19. Kaique Pacheco, 83.25-0-0-83.25-8 Points. (tie). Ednélio Almeida, 83.25-0-0-83.25-8 Points. 21. Wingson Henrique da Silva, 82-0-0-82.00-8 Points. 22. Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 80.25-0-0-80.25-8 Points. Austin Richardson, 0-0-0-0.00 Alan de Souza, 0-0-0-0.00 Cody Jesus, 0-0-0-0.00 Julio Cesar Marques, 0-0-0-0.00 Kaiden Loud, 0-0-0-0.00 Caden Bunch, 0-0-0-0.00 Vitor Losnake, 0-0-0-0.00 Felipe Furlan, 0-0-0-0.00 Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0-0.00 Bob Mitchell, 0-0-0-0.00 Braidy Randolph, 0-0-0-0.00 Jesse Petri, 0-0-0-0.00 Brady Oleson, 0-0-0-0.00 João Lucas Campos, 0-0-0-0.00 Jake Morinec, 0-0-0-0.00 Guilherme Valleiras, 0-0-0-0.00 Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0.00 Dener Barbosa, 0-0-0-0.00 João Henrique Lucas, 0-0-0-0.00 Briggs Madsen, 0-0-0-0.00 Clay Guiton, 0-0-0-0.00

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media