ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – Following a red-hot championship round at one of the season’s fan-favorite PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Unleash The Beast (UTB) events on Sunday afternoon, veteran rider Eduardo Aparecido (Gouvelandia, Brazil) emerged victorious as the only man to go 4-for-4 across the weekend, winning the PBR Albuquerque Ty Murray Invitational.
After being protected earlier in the week by the Arizona Ridge Riders for the upcoming 2024 PBR Teams Expansion Draft, Aparecido won his first UTB event of the 2024 season, earning 216.5 Unleash The Beast points and advancing from No. 6 to No. 4 in the world.
The three-day event at The Pit marked the 26th time the elite tour has visited the city and was the last of three majors in the 2024 UTB season where added points and payouts were on the line. The draw featured 40 riders competing in Rounds 1 and 2. Every contestant with a qualified ride in the first two rounds were then eligible to compete in Round 3 on Sunday. The 12 bull riders with the top combined ride scores following Rounds 1, 2, and 3 advanced to the championship round Sunday afternoon.
As the only athlete to go 4-for-4 for the weekend, the Arizona Ridge Riders’ standout started the weekend off by conquering Centerfold (Blake Sharp/ Michael Floyd) for 84 points and a tenth-place tie in Round 1. When Saturday’s second round began, Aparecido had his eyes set on Joy’s Bang Bang (4B Bucking Bulls/ Rudy Meija Bucking Bulls) who he flawlessly rode for 85.25 points. He finished in eighth place for Round 2.
On Sunday in Round 3 preceding the Championship Round, the 33-year-old Brazilian conquered Wild Card (Blake Sharp/ UB Bucking Bulls), scoring 87.75 points as fans in The Pit erupted.
His success in all three rounds put him in second place behind Dalton Kasel (Muleshoe, Texas) heading into the championship round as he set his sights on Mike’s Motive (Blake Sharp/ High Voltage/ Wetzel/ Knott).
Launching from the chutes aboard the incredibly talented animal athlete, Aparecido received 89.25 points, securing the number one spot in the Duke City. Aparecido’s fate then rested on the final out of the weekend, Kasel’s matchup with Flyin Wired (Tommy Julian/ BS Cattle Co). However, Kasel was bucked off at 2.9 seconds – securing the win for Aparecido.
The veteran rider left Albuquerque with a check for $111,413.33 and the No. 4 spot.
In second place for the weekend was Kansas City Outlaws rider and world leader, Cassio Dias (Sao F. de Sales, Brazil) who furthered his hold on the No. 1 spot in the UTB standings after his 3-for-4 weekend, highlighted by another spectacular, high-scoring ride aboard Man Hater (Jane Clark/ Gene Owen) – this one in the Championship Round.
To the dismay of the excited fans at The Pit, Dias was dispatched from Mahan (Jane Clark/ Gene Owen) in the opening round in Albuquerque, after only 3.32 seconds.
Matched with Show-Off (Ty Rinaldo TZ Bucking Bulls) in Round 2 on Saturday, he came back with a vengeance, recording a solid 85.5-point ride to tie for sixth-place in the round.
Drawing I’m Your Daddy (Cooper/ Scruggs Bucking Bulls)as his Round 3 partner, his hopes of advancing on to the Championship Round were fulfilled when he rode the talented bovine for 86.75 points, and a fourth-place finish in the round.
For his Championship Round match up, the 22-year-old cowboy then selected Man Hater, a bull he conquered in Los Angeles in mid-February for 94.75 points, a league high for the season and unmatched in 2023.
RELATED: Unleash The Beast concludes final 2024 PBR Major with a BANG!
Man Hater shot from the chutes stumbling low then rattled off a few high-kicking bucks. Dias stayed in perfect time to record a picture-perfect 93.25-point ride, the highest of the weekend. As the No. 1 man in the Championship Round, Dias left Albuquerque in second place, collecting 169.5 Unleash The Beast points.
The ride earned Man Hater a tie for YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the Event with Rustic Pearl (Blake Sharp) – both animals earned a 45.75-point bull score.
The runner-up finish and points earned in Albuquerque’s PBR Major furthered Cassio’s lead in the world standings. The 22-year-old now sits 481 points ahead of world No. 2 John Crimber (Decatur, Texas).
In addition to furthering his world lead, Dias took home a check for $45,013.33.
After having no luck in Little Rock, Arkansas, going 0-for-2, 25-year-old Kasel turned his buck-off streak around to finish in third place in New Mexico, keeping his No. 3 spot in the world standings.
Matched with Horn Dog (D4 Cattle/Double F Ranch), Kasel earned 86 points for his Round 1 ride for a good start to the weekend leaderboard at No. 6.
Woah (Barthold & Eldred) showcased his bull power when matched with Kasel in the second round for a whopping 86.5-point ride, which put the Austin Gamblers’ man in second place for Round 2.
Kasel was on fire in Round 3 matched with Cliffhanger (Barthold & Eldred), earning the 38th 90-point ride of his career with a whopping 91-point ride score.
Winning Round 3, Kasel came into the championship round first in the overall aggregate as one of only two riders riding a perfect 3-for-3 weekend. With the first overall pick in the draft, he chose Flyin Wired (Barhold & Eldred). Despite the momentum of the packed house, the bull twisted in midair and Kasel was dispatched after a mere 2.9 seconds.
His 3-for-4 weekend earned him 151 Unleash The Beast Points to hold tight to his No. 3 spot in the standings.
Despite being thrown hard on his head on Saturday, the Nashville Stampede’s Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, SP, Brazil) passed his concussion protocol testing and competed on Sunday, even putting up one of the best rides in Albuquerque, ending his weekend as the No. 17 man in the standings, after going 3-for-4 for a fourth-place finish.
The 2018 PBR World Champion hit the ground running with qualified rides in both Friday and Saturday’s opening rounds. The 29-year-old Brazilian conquered Chupacabra (Blake Sharp/UB Bucking Company) for 85.25 points and Flashbang (D4 Cattle Co) 84.25 points, respectively.
In the third round he was tossed by Army Slasher (Bernard Tallman) after 2.79 seconds but had secured his spot into championship Sunday, matched with UTZ BesTex Smokestack (Blake Sharp/ Chris Utz/Carey Brothers) for his 44th 90-point ride of his career with a score of 90.75 points.
With the fourth-place finish, Pacheco earned 87 Unleash The Beast Points.
Rookie phenom John Crimber (Decatur, Texas) rounded out the Top 5 of the Ty Murray Invitational.
After an impressive 90-point ride on Friday night aboard Whiskey Trip (Lari Crane/ Gene Owen) to win Round 1, the 18-year-old cowboy fired from the chutes in Round 2 aboard Boomerang (Blake Sharp/ Stacey Utz/ Rachel Farris/ Tristen Jones/ Stacey Rickman) but was bucked off at 3.37 seconds.
Going into Sunday’s Round 3, Crimber was paired with Sneaky Situation (Dakota Rodeo/ Chad Berger/ Lacey Scott/ Lucky Blue Crab Bucking Bulls).
Blasting into the air, the muscular animal bested the cowboy at 2.26 seconds.
Despite his Round 2 and 3 buck offs, the Texas young gun made the Championship Round cut, and selected his bovine partner to be Bamboozle (Farris Cattle/ Big Schott Rodeo).
The hard bucking bull exploded from the chutes in a haze of dust, and Crimber hung on, kicking out his legs for extra points amid the mayhem to ride through the buzzer for 91.5 points.
Earning 102 Unleash The Beast points, Crimber stays at No. 2 in the standings locked in a battle with Dias as the race for the 2024 PBR World Championship heats up.
The PBR Unleash The Beast next travels to Ford Idaho Center in Nampa, Idaho for the PBR Nampa, presented by Cooper Tires the 18th event of the 2024 season, on Thursday, March 28, at 7:45 p.m. MDT, Friday, March 29, at 6:45 MDT and Saturday, March 30, at 6:45 p.m. MDT.
Elsewhere in the PBR, the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour was in action in Dayton, Ohio, a crucial event for a handful of riders trying to ride their way into the 2024 PBR World Finals.
When the dust settled inside Nutter Center, the Texas Rattlers’ Daniel Keeping (Montague, Texas) rode supreme, parlaying a 2-for-3 performance into an event win at PBR Dayton.
Keeping got off to a quick start in Round 1, delivering what tied for the fourth-best score when he covered Spotted Demon (3B Cattle Co.) for 86 points. While the throwback cowboy from Texas was bested in Round 2 by It’s Cherry (Halpain Bucking Bulls) in 4.16 seconds, his opening round score proved enough to punch his ticket to the championship round.
Keeping then went head-to-head against Kephart’s Solomon (G&H Cattle) and was marked a championship round-best 86.5 points to clinch the victory.
Courtesy of the win, Keeping earned a crucial 123 points in the race for the 2024 PBR Velocity Tour Championship.
The PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour next travels to Oakland, California, on Saturday, March 30
Action for Beatbox PBR Oakland at Oakland Arena begins at 7 p.m. PDT.
PBR Unleash The Beast – Ty Murray Invitational
The Pit – Albuquerque, New Mexico
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Eduardo Aparecido, 84-85.25-87.75-89.25-346.25-216.5 Points.
2. Cassio Dias, 0-85.5-86.75-93.25-265.50-169.5 Points.
3. Dalton Kasel, 86-86.5-91-0-263.50-151 Points.
4. Kaique Pacheco, 85.25-84.25-0-90.75-260.25-87 Points.
5. John Crimber, 90-0-0-91.5-181.50-102 Points.
6. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 87.5-0-0-88.75-176.25-67 Points.
7. João Ricardo Vieira, 89.25-86.25-0-0-175.50-66 Points.
8. JaCauy Hale, 0-81.75-90.5-0-172.25-45 Points.
9. Ederson Santos, 0-84.75-85.75-0-170.50-37 Points.
10. Jose Vitor Leme, 84-85.75-0-0-169.75-35.5 Points.
11. Mason Taylor, 87-0-0-0-87.00-25 Points.
12. Thiago Salgado, 0-86.75-0-0-86.75-42 Points.
13. Julio Cesar Marques, 0-0-86.25-0-86.25-21 Points.
(tie). Felipe Furlan, 86.25-0-0-0-86.25-21 Points.
(tie). Jesse Petri, 0-86.25-0-0-86.25-23 Points.
16. Cort McFadden, 85.75-0-0-0-85.75-15 Points.
(tie). Nick Tetz, 85.75-0-0-0-85.75-15 Points.
18. Koltin Hevalow, 0-85.5-0-0-85.50-16.5 Points.
19. Vitor Losnake, 0-83.5-0-0-83.50-10 Points.
20. Alan de Souza, 0-83.25-0-0-83.25-9 Points.
21. Bob Mitchell, 0-80.25-0-0-80.25-8 Points.
22. Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 50.5-0-0-0-50.50-1 Points.
23. Wingson Henrique da Silva, 47-0-0-0-47.00
Caden Bunch, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Brady Fielder, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Jesus, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Kaiden Loud, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Leonardo Castro, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Alex Cerqueira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Daylon Swearingen, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Boudreaux Campbell, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ednélio Almeida, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Conner Halverson, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Silvano Alves, 0-0-0-0-0.00
João Lucas Campos, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Dener Barbosa, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Andrew Alvidrez, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Trace Redd, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
