FORT WORTH, Texas – With Thursday night’s opening round officially in the books, the 2024 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast is officially underway!

And with a pair of Top 5-ranked cowboys in No. 1 Cassio Dias and No. 2 Eduardo Aparecido keeping the coals hot in their respective world title efforts, the drama has only increased with just seven rounds separating the top-tier tour from crowning its 2024 PBR World Champion.

Dominating, per usual, Dias nearly exited his Round 1 showdown with a no-score, as he was initially flagged by the judges for a slap. Talking it through on the dirt with bullfighter Cody Webster, Dias pointed up at the screen while ensuring the crowd, and his fellow competitors, that he did not make off-hand contact with the bovine.

RELATED: Dias fulfilling a childhood dream as he competes at World Finals

Eventually confirmed by the review crew, the Kansas City Outlaws star got his weekend started on a good note, tying Nashville Stampede star Kaiden Loud for second-place honors courtesy of their matching 86.75-point efforts.

While we’ve seen Dias start events off on the right foot, well, more times than not, the out nonetheless served as the Brazilian’s first-ever attempt on the World Finals stage. Joining in on the fun with successful rookie-year debuts, Loud and Leonardo Castro chipped in some heroics in putting on a show for the first-years.

However with just seven total qualified rides logged in the opening session (which includes Vitor Losnake’s 42.5-point go aboard PIF), this thing is still WIDE open, especially when you consider Aparecido jumped from the No. 4 rank to the No. 2 spot via his round-winning efforts!

With the 2024 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast – Eliminations set to continue Friday, May 10 in Fort Worth, Texas, let’s take a look at who’s drawing into the lineup inside Cowtown Coliseum in Round 2:

ROUND 2 MATCHUPS Jean Fernandes Pereira vs. Hunter Qynn Andersen vs. Dana White’s Twisted Steel Grayson Cole vs. Preachers Kid Claudio Montanha Jr. vs. Bo Man Dener Barbosa vs. Bamboozle *Lucas Divino vs. Do Dat Eddie Jake Morinec vs. Big Chili JaCauy Hale vs. Little Tex Silvano Alves vs. MAGA Callum Miller vs. Night Hawk *Andrew Alvidrez vs. Yellowknife Kyler Oliver vs. UTZ BesTex Legend Ezekiel Mitchell vs. Salty Brindle Conner Halverson vs. Top Dollar Bob Mitchell vs. Bandito Bug Mason Taylor vs. Hunting Trip Jesse Petri vs. Rafter P Constructions The Show Wyatt Rogers vs. Hard Candy Ednelio Almeida vs. Rafter P Constructions Cold Creek Paulo Eduardo Rossetto vs. Hell Right *Boudreaux Campbell vs. Cool Whip *Mauricio Gulla Moreira vs. Mike’s Magic Felipe Furlan vs. Smooth Steel Sage Steele Kimzey vs. Miller Time *Daylon Swearingen vs. Knucklehead Keyshawn Whitehorse vs. Highwire *Cody Jesus vs. Magic Potion Alex Cerqueira vs. Nefarious *Cort McFadden vs. Punchy Pete *Julio Cesar Marques vs. Man Hater Thiago Salgado vs. Jersey Mike Kaique Pacheco vs. Snake Eyes *Caden Bunch vs. Big Bank Brady Fielder vs. Exodus Joao Ricardo Vieira vs. Whiskey Trip Koltin Hevalow vs. The Kraken *Dalton Kasel vs. Ridin’ Solo John Crimber vs. Red Demon Vitor Losnake vs. Flyin Wired *Alan de Souza vs. Rorschach Leonardo Castro vs. American You Dawson Branton vs. UTZ BesTex Smokestack Kaiden Loud vs. Doze You Down *Cassio Dias vs. Ricky Vaughn Eduardo Aparecido vs. Dark Thoughts *Denotes a rematch OUT DUE TO INJURY/OTHER Austin Richardson (Injury) Wingson Henrique da Silva (Injury) Clay Guiton (Injury) Jose Vitor Leme (Injury) Marco Rizzo (Injury) ROUND 2 REMATCHES Alan de Souza vs. Rorschach (5.32 seconds in Houston, Texas) Andrew Alvidrez vs. Yellowknife (91.75 points in Manchester, New Hampshire) Boudreaux Campbell vs. Cool Whip (4.27 seconds in Fort Worth, Texas; 5.49 seconds in Billings, Montana; 7.37 seconds in Albuquerque, New Mexico) Caden Bunch vs. Big Bank (3.46 seconds in Houston, Texas) Cassio Dias vs. Ricky Vaughn (90.5 points in Sioux Falls, South Dakota) Cody Jesus vs. Magic Potion (2.15 seconds in Chicago, Illinois) Cort McFadden vs. Punchy Pete (6.61 seconds in Indianapolis, Indiana) Dalton Kasel vs. Ridin’ Solo (2.26 seconds in Ocala, Florida; 3.13 seconds in Del Rio, Texas; 4.56 seconds in Albany, New York; 4.65 seconds in Little Rock, Arkansas; 6.57 seconds in Greensboro, North Carolina; 6.67 seconds in Fort Worth, Texas) Daylon Swearingen vs. Knucklehead (7.18 seconds in Chicago, Illinois) Julio Cesar Marques vs. Man Hater (.99 seconds in Ridgedale, Missouri) Lucas Divino vs. Do Dat Eddie (2.04 seconds in Fort Worth, Texas) Mauricio Gulla Moreira vs. Mike’s Magic (2.95 seconds in Sioux Falls, South Dakota; 7.19 seconds in Tulsa, Oklahoma) EDUARDO APARECIDO BRINGS OPENING ROUND MOMENTUM INTO ROUND 2 Participating in his 13th appearance on the PBR World Finals stage, 33-year-old Eduardo Aparecido captured the opening round win Thursday night inside Cowtown Coliseum via a quality 87.75-point strike board Down Payment.

Earning a sound 88 UTB points for his Round 1 victory, the Arizona Ridge Riders’ cowboy has been enjoying a career-best season as he continues his ascension up the Unleash The Beast World Championship standings.

And we’re here for it!

RELATED: Eduardo Aparecido captures opening round win in Cowtown Coliseum, assumes No. 2 rank

Set to dance with Dark Thoughts after selecting the bull with the first overall selection in last night’s bull draft, the veteran looks to go 2-for-2 with the hopes of further closing the gap between he and No. 1 Dias.

NO. 5 ALAN DE SOUZA RETURNS TO WORLD FINALS WITH OPENING ROUND CONVERSION It doesn’t matter than No. 5 Alan de Souza hasn’t found himself competing at UTB’s end-all, be-all contests the past few years, last competing during the event’s 2019 iteration in Las Vegas. He showed up Thursday night inside the historic Cowtown Coliseum with the same determination he’s been showing off all season long. Exiting his opening round showdown as if it was merely a warm-up, PBR Stockyards Showcase event, he matched Rip’s every move en route to securing himself a Round 1 score.

To say he fought through it with for the gritty finish would be an understatement.

While the numbers only came in at 82.75 points for the 30-year-old, that’s pretty much on par for the Nashville Stampede talent, who’s made his living on quantity in 2024 rather than quality.

That’s not a knock on the No. 5-ranked bull rider, by any means, as he’s been grinding his way to what should be a career year should he keep riding at this clip. Now 34-for-60 on the season, he trails only No. 1 Cassio Dias in overall conversions this season, 34 to Dias’ now 38. Earning a score in eight of his last 11 attempts, he’ll look to stay on track Friday night during a Round 2 dance with Rorschach.

FOLLOW ALONG Round 2’s action inside Cowtown Coliseum will begin Friday, May 10 at 6:45 p.m. CDT and will also air live on CBS Sports Network beginning at 7 p.m. CDT.

The third round of action will air on CBS Sports Network beginning at 7 p.m. CDT on Saturday, May 11, with the opening weekend’s coverage concluding via the Round 4 CBS Sports Network broadcast on Sunday, May 12 beginning at 2 p.m. CDT.

Fans can also catch all four rounds of action on the TUDN Spanish broadcast, with Round 1 set to air on Friday, May 10 at 2 p.m. CDT, Round primed to air on Saturday, May 11 at 2 p.m. CDT, Round 3 set to air on Sunday, May 12 and Round 4 set to round out the weekend’s coverage on Monday, May 13 at 2 p.m. CDT.

Supporters can stay tuned to PBR.com and PBR social media channels throughout the weekend for the latest scores, wrecks, injury updates and beyond as the 2024 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast – Eliminations invade Cowtown Coliseum May 10-12!

Photo courtesy of Josh Homer/Bull Stock Media