PUEBLO, Colo. – Sure, 40-some riders will eventually be invited to Cowtown Coliseum this spring for the first of three *brand new* PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast competition stages (with the postseason’s Eliminations rounds up first, set to entertain bull riding fans with four dramatic rounds of talent-separating sessions May 9-12).
But with just 20 riders exiting the stage one showdown (which will consist of the Top 15-ranked riders in the Unleash The Beast World Standings, combined with the Top 5 event aggregate leaders who aren’t already qualified via their Top 15 status), the race to position oneself within striking distance is officially on, as the premier series season has just six regular season events remaining.
That end-game slate begins Thursday, March 28, as UTB prepares to invade Nampa, Idaho, for a rare weekday start, with the remainder of the three-day, four-round contest set to play out Friday, March 29 before later crowning a champion on Saturday, March 30.
With anywhere from 100 to 130 points, or so, available to any one rider this weekend and within each of the following final five late-season showdowns, suddenly No. 1 Cassio Dias’s 481-point lead doesn’t seem that big.
Then again, outside the top talents of No. 2 John Crimber and No. 3 Dalton Kasel, we haven’t really seen a cowboy other than Dias regularly finish inside the Top 5 in such consecutive fashion, let alone win three or four of the six remaining contests. So, while the odds of seeing Dias get chased down prior to the tour heading south for the season-culminating gauntlet aren’t great, we’ll reiterate the importance of moving within striking distance.
And of course, staying healthy.
Enter No. 15 Keyshawn Whitehorse, who’s riding like he doesn’t want to leave anything to chance.
The skilled McCracken Spring, Utah, native may have had his entire hand wrapped with ice ahead of his short round matchup with Dana White’s Twisted Steel last weekend in Albuquerque, New Mexico, …
… but that wouldn’t stop him from becoming just the fourth different rider to best the bovine (joining the limited company of Ednei Caminhas, Braidy Randolph and Andrew Alvidrez).
Scored his season-high 88.75 points, Whitehorse has always had a reputation for some piqued interest when it comes to some of the toughest, rankest bulls in the business. And with UFC Hall of Fame talent Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone set to challenge the UFC (Ultimate Fighting Championship) shot caller, aka his former boss (Dana White) May 18 at the 2024 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast, Whitehorse wasn’t backing down from the opportunity.
In fact, he opted into the all-pro matchup, selecting the bull in the short round draft.
That’s how one earns the big scores, after all. Big dances with rank bovines.
With Whitehorse sitting at No. 15 overall, which will represent the official cut line following the opening four rounds of action inside the historic home of the PBR Stockyards Showcase events, he continues to serve as the bubble man as the tour prepares to knock out the final six events of the season.
Which means riders currently need more than 266.66 UTB points in order to get within the Top 15 as things currently sit; A total that’s only going to grow throughout the electric final stretch, as long as Whitehorse and the 14 riders above him stay the course.
Of course being ranked within the Top 15 leading into the event will only qualify any given cowboy. For riders who want to keep their postseason dreams alive, they’ll need to keep riding.
Once the 20 riders are designated to move onto the Championship portion, and the remaining riders are relegated to the Ride For Redemption rounds (where just five riders will advance and survive to the Championship stage, May 18-19 inside AT&T Stadium), regular season points are officially out of the window. Slates will be reset, and each of the 25 qualifying riders will be on the same starting round.
Queue the drama!
All of that to say … riders essentially need to be looking at these final six events as the end-all, be-all, as they’ve got (at least) 20 or so outs remaining to prove they belong in the first-ever progressive-staged World Finals experience!
Thankfully for Whitehorse, who has converted in 10 of his last 20 premier series outs, and 15 of his 24 last combined outs across all levels of competition (as the talented 27-year-old spent a few weeks down on PWVT), he’s seemingly picked the best time of the year to go on a heater.
Which may not just affect his stock within the individual series, as he could very well be one of the first riders off the board during next month’s PBR Teams Expansion Draft after being left unprotected by his Arizona Ridge Riders squad last week.
RELATED: PBR Teams Expansion Draft Outlook: Who would we pick?
Looking to piece together yet another Top 10 finish, already with seven on the season, including each of his past four events (sixth, ninth, fifth, seventh), his Thursday night, opening-round matchup against Burning Man is about as close to must-watch action as it gets!
With Unleash The Beast preparing to invade Ford Idaho Center Thursday night during the 18th event of the 2024 Unleash The Beast campaign March 28-30, let’s take a look at who’s drawing into the lineup during the PBR Nampa, presented by Cooper Tires:
ROUND 1 MATCHUPS
Thiago Salgado vs. Rockville
Felipe Furlan vs. Calhoun Oil
Ezekiel Mitchell vs. Ridgeway
Daylon Swearingen vs. Fierce’s Dirtnap
*Mauricio Gulla Moreira vs. Tijuana Two-Step
Leonardo Castro vs. Kodiac
Bob Mitchell vs. Bootstrap Bill
Ederson Santos vs. Tatonka
Trace Redd vs. Regulator
Vitor Losnake vs. Lone Ranger
Jesse Petri vs. Pearl Snap
Wingson Henrique da Silva vs. Midnight Train
Mason Taylor vs. Baldy
Jose Vitor Leme vs. Buck Nation
Andrew Alvidrez vs. War Train
Paulo Eduardo Rossetto vs. Electric Kitty
Cort McFadden vs. Tommy Gun
*Alex Cerqueira vs. Flapjack
Dener Barbosa vs. Sneaky Situation
Nick Tetz vs. Pookie Holler
Ednelio Almeida vs. Cookies & Cream
Keyshawn Whitehorse vs. Burning Man
Boudreaux Campbell vs. Sky Walker
Luciano De Castro vs. Time Bomb
Conner Halverson vs. Blackstone
Kaiden Loud vs. Pam’s Dream
Kaique Pacheco vs. Dropping Gears
Brady Fielder vs. Sellout
Alan de Souza vs. Sweet Train
Julio Cesar Marques vs. 2 Words
Caden Bunch vs. Gucci
Joao Ricardo Vieira vs. Double P
Koltin Hevalow vs. Devil’s Revenge
Eduardo Aparecido vs. Medicine Red
Dalton Kasel vs. Bo Man
John Crimber vs. Wishful Thinking
Cassio Dias vs. Tricked Out
* denotes a rematch
OUT BECAUSE OF INJURY/OTHER
Austin Richardson (Injury)
Cody Jesus (Injury)
Clay Guiton (Injury)
Sage Kimzey (Injury)
Silvano Alves (Personal)
Jess Lockwood (Injury)
Dawson Branton (Injury)
Chase Outlaw (Injury)
Marcus Mast (Injury)
Derek Kolbaba (Injury)
Colten Fritzlan (Injury)
RELATED: Leme questionable for Nampa after brutal wreck in Albuquerque
ROUND 1 REMATCHES
Alex Cerqueira vs. Flapjack (1.71 seconds in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma) Mauricio Gulla Moreira vs. Tijuana Two-Step (88.75 points in New York, New York)
NO. 1 CASSIO DIAS SET TO DEFEND 481-POINT LEAD IN NAMPA
The world’s top-ranked bull rider in No. 1 Cassio Dias may have come up one ride short last weekend, edged out by veteran Eduardo Aparecido’s 4-for-4 showcase, but he 100% still stole the show, once again teaming up with the industry’s top-ranked bull in No. 1 Man Hater in epic fashion.
Extending his lead atop the Unleash The Beast World Championship standings, and No. 2 John Crimber, to a whopping 481 points, Dias’s 3-for-4 effort was the rookie’s latest electric effort as he continues to show off during one of the sport’s most insane seasons for a first-year. And with just six events remaining in the 2024 Unleash The Beast regular season, will there be enough time for Crimber, No. 3 Dalton Kasel and company to catch up?
RELATED: Unleash The Beast Game Notes: Nampa 2024
If Dias can put his mid-season injury behind him while continuing to climb atop the shark cage in celebratory fashion, the odds aren’t looking great, despite Crimber, Kasel, Aparecido and several of the circuit’s top talents putting on quite the show themselves. Having competed in each of the tour’s 17 events in 2024, Dias has managed to bring home points in 14 of the 17. So, it’s not that Kasel and company aren’t giving their all in attempting to shake up the standings. It’s more so that Dias is also giving it his all, with hopes to capture the World Finals event title itself alongside 2024 PBR Rookie of the Year honors en route to becoming the 2024 World Champion. Tasked via an opening round dance with Tricked Out during a rare Thursday night showdown, Dias will look to stay hot up in Nampa!
TRACE REDD LOOKS TO PUT ON A SHOW FOR HOME-STATE CROWD
Growing up and continuing to reside just under 300 miles away (Malad City, Idaho) from this weekend’s showdown inside Ford Idaho Center (Nampa, Idaho), Missouri Thunder rider Trace Redd has an opportunity to put on a show for his home-state friends and family members as the 19-year-old prepares to compete at his seventh premier series event of the season! Just 1-for-12 overall as the youngster is still figuring out just how to champion the best bulls in the business, his lone UTB qualified ride came during the season-opener in Tucson, Arizona, as the talent recorded a less than ideal 73.75-point out, dancing with First String. But after seeing the trending talent rip off some quality rides in the 5-on-5 format last summer, we know he can ride.
Most recently competing last weekend in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the first PBR Major he’s attended in his budding career, he turned in an 0-for-2 slate despite exiting the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s (PWVT) PBR Palm Springs with his first-ever PWVT event title the weekend prior. Continuing to piece things together ahead of the PBR Camping World Team Series season, Redd will attempt to impress his comrades while making a last-chance dance up the standings. Primed for a head-to-head showdown with Regulator during the ninth out of the evening, fans should keep an eye on the Thunder rider this weekend.
FOLLOW ALONG
Representing the 18th event of the 2024 Unleash The Beast season, the three-day, four-round showcase in Nampa, Idaho, is set to begin Thursday, March 28 at 7:45 p.m. MDT, with Round 1 airing live via RidePass on Pluto TV. Round 2’s action will begin Friday, March 29 at 7:45 p.m. MDT and will also air live via RidePass on Pluto TV.
The best bull riders in the world will then return for night three, with action in Nampa set to conclude on Saturday, March 30 at 6:45 p.m. MDT.
RELATED: Where to Watch: Nampa
All of championship Saturday’s action, which includes the third long round, followed by the short go, is slated to air on CBS Sports Network on Sunday, March 31 at 6 p.m. MDT.
Fans can also catch all three rounds of action on the TUDN Spanish broadcast, with Round 1 set to air on Friday, March 29 at 1 p.m. MDT, Round 2 primed to air on Saturday, March 30 at 1 p.m. MDT and all of championship Saturday’s outs airing on Sunday, March 31 at 1 p.m. MDT.
Fans can stay tuned to PBR.com and PBR social media channels throughout the weekend for the latest scores, wrecks, injury updates and beyond as Unleash The Beast prepares to invade Ford Idaho Center March 28-30!
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media