PUEBLO, Colo. – Last week, No. 1 Cassio Dias clinched the No. 1 spot in the Unleash The Beast World Championship standings heading into the 2024 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast, beginning on May 9 in Fort Worth, Texas.
But that doesn’t mean this world title race is over.
Not by a long shot.
Since winning his sixth event of the season in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, the first weekend of April, Dias has fallen into a slump, going just 2-for-8 in his last three events and failing to crack the Top 10.
While he’s had other cold stretches this season, this is the first time he’s failed to place in the Top 10 in three consecutive events.
Dias leads No. 2 John Crimber by 494.5 points, so he has plenty of breathing room, but with the World Finals just two weeks away, now is not the time you want to go cold.
Lately, the race has been between Nos. 2-5.
Earlier this month, Crimber and Dalton Kasel duked it out for the No. 2 ranking, trading it a few times before Crimber ultimately settled there.
Two weeks later, Eduardo Aparecido won in Billings, Montana, to vault from No. 5 to No. 2.
Then came last week’s two-event slate in Everett and Tacoma, Washington. Crimber won Round 1 and finished second overall in Everett to retake the No. 2 ranking, while Kasel won Round 1 in Tacoma.
And No. 5 Alan de Souza had the best week a rider could possibly have, winning in Everett before winning Tacoma as well. The winning streak also follows back-to-back runner-up finishes in Nampa and Sioux Falls, meaning Souza has finished in the Top 2 in four of his last five events.
Before Nampa, Souza was ranked No. 9, 809.33 points behind Dias. Now ranked No. 5, Souza is just 543.33 points behind. In the last three events alone, Souza has earned 248.5 points, while Dias has earned just 10.
Souza is also a single point behind No. 4 Kasel in the standings and 48.83 points behind No. 2 Crimber.
No. 6 Koltin Hevalow is 863.83 points behind Dias.
They’ve got some work to do to catch up to No. 1, but Crimber, Aparecido, Kasel and Souza look to be the main chase pack for the world title.
And with no one hotter than Souza right now, there could be a huge shakeup in their rankings at this weekend’s Cooper Tires PBR Louisville, presented by Pneu-Dart, in Louisville, Kentucky, on April 26-27. Round 1 airs on April 26 at 7:45 p.m. ET on RidePass on Pluto TV.
The 2024 PBR World Finals begins with Eliminations at Cowtown Coliseum 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. John Crimber
3. Eduardo Aparecido
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. Thiago Salgado
13. Leonardo Castro
14. Julio Cesar Marques
15. Cody Jesus
16. Cort McFadden
Danger Zone
17. Alex Cerqueira
18. Keyshawn Whitehorse
19. Daylon Swearingen
20. Kaiden Loud
21. Sage Kimzey
22. Wingson Henrique da Silva
23. Felipe Furlan
24. Vitor Losnake
25. Mauricio Gulla Moreira
26. Clay Guiton
27. Paulo Eduardo Rossetto
29. Ednelio Almeida
30. Wyatt Rogers
31. Jose Vitor Leme (out)
32. Bob Mitchell
33. Conner Halverson
34. Jesse Petri
35. Ezekiel Mitchell
36. Kyler Oliver
37. Marco Rizzo (out)
38. Callum Miller
39. Luciano De Castro
40. Mason Taylor
41. Andrew Alvidrez
42. Silvano Alves
43. Eli Vastbinder
There was some huge movement in the danger zone this past weekend as seven-time PRCA bull riding world champion Sage Kimzey finished second in Tacoma, jumping from No. 33 to No. 21. No. 16 Cort McFadden currently holds the last safe spot (since No. 7 Austin Richardson is out due to injury). Kimzey trails him by just 59 points.
One rider can earn a maximum of 167 points this weekend in Louisville, so another strong performance could put Kimzey safely within the Top 15. And if anyone is capable of a big performance, it’s Sage Kimzey.
At the bottom of the danger zone, we saw Kyler Oliver have a huge showing in Everett, finishing third to jump into position to qualify for the World Finals. Previously ranked No. 45 and on the outside looking in, he’s now ranked No. 36.
Two PBR World Champions also need big weekends in Louisville to secure their positions – No. 19 Daylon Swearingen would like to get into the Top 15, while No. 42 Silvano Alves would simply like to qualify for his 15th PBR World Finals. Thanks to injuries ahead of him in the standings, he looks to be in, but he can’t afford to leave his fate in other riders’ hands.
Don’t miss any of the action from Louisville this weekend as the World Finals field is officially locked in!
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
