PUEBLO, Colo. – Cassio Dias is one step closer to winning the world title at the 2024 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast.

The 22-year-old has left other riders in his dust this season, racking up six event wins – the most by any rookie in PBR history and just two away from tying the single-season wins record held by two-time World Champions Justin McBride and Jose Vitor Leme – and holding the No. 1 spot in the Unleash The Beast World Championship standings for all but two weeks this season.

RELATED: How does Dias’s 2024 season compare with Leme’s record-breaking 2021 season?

He currently leads No. 2 Eduardo Aparecido by 525.33 points.

That number is significant.

With just three events remaining before the PBR World Finals begins on May 9 in Fort Worth, Texas, one rider can earn a maximum of 501 points if he were to win every subsequent round with a 90-point ride and all three events.

Therefore, Dias has mathematically clinched the No. 1 spot in the standings heading into Eliminations on May 9-12.

At Eliminations, the Top 40 in the UTB standings, plus five invites, will each attempt one bull per round. Out of the Elimination rounds, 20 riders will advance to AT&T Stadium for the Championship Rounds on May 18-19 – the Top 15 in the UTB standings, plus the Top 5 riders in the aggregate that have not already qualified.

Riders who don’t meet either criteria will have to compete in the Ride for Redemption rounds on May 15-16, also at Cowtown Coliseum. There, the 25 contestants not advancing plus 15 invites compete in two additional rounds, with the Top 5 in the aggregate advancing to the Championship Rounds.

The Championship Rounds start with a clean slate and consist of the 25 qualifiers competing in two rounds per day. At the end of the fourth round, the highest-ranked rider in the UTB standings will be crowned the PBR World Champion.

Current Top 15 1. Cassio Dias 2. Eduardo Aparecido 3. John Crimber 4. Dalton Kasel 5. Alan de Souza 6. Koltin Hevalow 7. Austin Richardson (out) 8. Joao Ricardo Vieira 9. Brady Fielder 10. Caden Bunch 11. Kaique Pacheco 12. Julio Cesar Marques 13. Thiago Salgado 14. Cody Jesus 15. Leonardo Castro 16. Cort McFadden

Incredibly, Dias has also mathematically clinched a spot in the Championship Rounds without ever setting foot in Texas.

With No. 7 Austin Richardson out for the season with a knee injury, the final Top 15 spot belongs to No. 16 Cort McFadden, who has 317 points in the standings. Dias leads McFadden by 1,078.33 points. If McFadden were to sweep the remainder of the regular season (501 points) and all four Eliminations rounds (556 points) with 90-point rides, he would earn 1,057 points.

This means that Dias cannot fall out of the Top 15, and you will be seeing him in the Championship Rounds fighting for the world title.

However, some notable riders need all the points they can get to move up into the Top 15 and avoid the Ride for Redemption on May 15-16.

Danger Zone 17. Alex Cerqueira 18. Keyshawn Whitehorse T19. Daylon Swearingen T19. Kaiden Loud 21. Wingson Henrique da Silva 22. Felipe Furlan 23. Vitor Losnake 24. Clay Guiton 25. Boudreaux Campbell T26. Wyatt Rogers T26. Paulo Eduardo Rossetto 28. Ednelio Almeida 29. Mauricio Gulla Moreira 30. Jose Vitor Leme (out) 31. Bob Mitchell 32. Conner Halverson 33. Sage Kimzey 34. Jesse Petri 35. Marco Rizzo (out) 36. Callum Miller 37. Ezekiel Mitchell 38. Luciano De Castro 39. Andrew Alvidrez 40. Silvano Alves 41. Eli Vastbinder 42. Mason Taylor 43. Braidy Randolph

In the last week, Keyshawn Whitehorse and Kaiden Loud have fallen out of the Top 15, while Leonardo Castro and McFadden have climbed in. Seven-time PRCA bull riding world champion Sage Kimzey has slipped from No. 31 to No. 33, while PBR World Champions Daylon Swearingen and Silvano Alves are also on the outside looking in.

The next opportunity to earn points is the mid-week PBR Everett in Everett, Washington, on April 17-18. Dias will take on Dirty Little Sailor in Round 1 (April 17 at 10:45 p.m. ET on RidePass on Pluto TV).

If there’s anything we’ve learned about Dias during this rookie season for the ages, it’s that he’s not one to rest on his laurels, competing week in and week out even while banged up. He’s sure to keep pushing until that gold buckle is locked up, and he’s sure to put on a show now that his spot atop the standings is secure.

Photo courtesy of Josh Homer/Bull Stock Media