FORT WORTH, Texas – When Cassio Dias was young, growing up in São Francisco de Sales, Brazil, he used to ride the arm of the couch in his family home, pretending to be a bull rider.

His dad would call his rides and announce that he had won the World Championship.

Now 22, Dias is the No. 1 bull rider in the Unleash The Beast World Championship standings and competing at his first PBR World Finals.

But as Dias prepared for battle inside Cowtown Coliseum at the 2024 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast – Eliminations, earbuds in his ears, gazing out at the historic venue, he still felt like that little boy.

“That little Cassio that was there riding on the couch is here right now inside of me,” Dias said. “I always dreamed about it. I always did everything to be here today. I’m very happy about it and feeling that the same Cassio is there.”

Despite being so young, Dias is built from the mold of an old-school cowboy, with his suspenders and Lane Frost-inspired celebration. His favorite song is My Heroes Have Always Been Cowboys by Willie Nelson, and it was, of course, what was playing in his earbuds before Round 1 of Eliminations.

The way things are going, Dias will be the hero for plenty of young cowboys by the time the season is over.

Dias made the 8-second whistle in his debut World Finals out, besting Sava for 86.75 points. It was not his highest-scoring ride ever, but it was good to tie for second place in the round.

Things got tense as the ride went under review for a slap, but Dias shook his finger from side to side as the judges looked at the footage, and he was correct. No slap.

“That was great body awareness right there,” two-time World Champion Justin McBride said on CBS Sports Network. “Everything was wanting to bring him down on that bull.”

It wasn’t enough to allow him to extend his lead atop the UTB standings as Eduardo Aparecido won the round, improving from No. 4 to No. 2 and shrinking Dias’s lead from 560.5 points to 552.33 points. But as long as he keeps riding, the aggregate win – and 200 points – is well within his grasp.

The world title race remained intense as No. 5 Alan de Souza also converted inside Cowtown Coliseum, finishing sixth in Round 1.

But it was Dias entering the arena during the opening as the No. 1 bull rider, taking the long walk through rows of his competitors, smiling all the while.

It was the face of a man who knows he’s No. 1 and relishes the moment.

Dias has drawn Ricky Vaughn as his bovine opponent for Round 2, which begins at 7:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network. The two faced off last month in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, and Dias came out on top to the tune of 90.5 points.

That was also Dias’s sixth event win of the season.

He went on to win one more at the regular-season finale in Louisville, Kentucky, bringing his total to seven this season, one shy of the single-season record for most event wins.

Dias has a lot on the line at the World Finals – that record, Rookie of the Year honors, and a world title.

But he’s still taking time to enjoy the stage and reflect on the little boy riding the arm of the couch, dreaming of where he is now.

“It’s very emotional being here at my first World Finals,” Dias said. “But at the same time, I’m calm and focused on my bull and doing my best today.”

Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media