ARLINGTON, Texas – In a season dominated by a flashy, star-studded rookie class and a few established veterans, a couple of different faces reigned supreme on night one of the 2024 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast – Championship.

With the new event format, the Championship consists of four rounds across two nights at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. While the event began with four nights of Eliminations and two rounds of Ride For Redemption, both at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas, all riders started with a clean slate at the Championship.

The World Finals event winner will be the aggregate winner of the four Championship rounds.

Therefore, every ride in AT&T Stadium is critical as riders chase the coveted World Finals event title.

Leading the way after Rounds 1 & 2 is Thiago Salgado, who won Round 2 with a 90-point ride on Renegade.

“As a kid, I studied, I watched all the videos from here,” Salgado said. “I watched Silvano (Alves), Joao Ricardo (Vieira), all the guys, and I think, ‘One day, I’m going to go there and ride one bull the same as those guys.’ So this buckle is really special for me.”

Salgado is now ranked No. 9 in the Unleash The Beast World Championship standings.

Right behind him in the event aggregate is Aussie Brady Fielder, who won Round 1 with 89.5 points aboard Fast Flow.

While Fielder notched his first premier series event win in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, in March, his World Finals triumph was his first round win on U.S. soil.

“It means a lot to me,” Fielder said. “I’ve had the goal to win rounds all season, but when the time is right, it’s right, I suppose. I’m thankful I finally got it here.”

Fielder is ranked No. 8 in the UTB standings – just one position ahead of Salgado.

The two may lead the field at the World Finals – Championship, but it’s not by much.

No rider went 2-for-2 on Saturday night, but 12 made the 8-second whistle. Kaiden Loud, who won the Eliminations aggregate by going 3-for-4, trails Salgado by just half a point as he rode July for 89.5 points.

There are then five riders tied for fourth place with matching 89-point scores, including No. 3 Eduardo Aparecido, No. 4 Dalton Kasel, No. 10 Kaique Pacheco, No. 13 Caden Bunch and No. 18 Sage Kimzey.

Not a group to be trifled with.

“I love to stay here, and I love the pressure,” Salgado said. “This is why I’m not back in Brazil.”

Despite their strong performances, both in Round 2, Aparecido and Kasel were both eliminated from world title contention.

Just 579 points are available for one rider to win on Championship Sunday were he to win the aggregate and both remaining rounds, going 90 points in both rides. Aparecido trails No. 1 Cassio Dias, who bucked off twice on Saturday, by 644.33 points, while Kasel trails Dias by 709.33.

Dias and No. 2 John Crimber are the only riders still mathematically able to win the 2024 PBR World Championship. Crimber placed 10^th in Round 1 with 88 points on Skippy, earning 40 points towards the standings and making up scant ground on Dias, who returned to action following a brutal wreck in Round 3 of Eliminations that required a hospital stay.

It’s setting up for a truly wild finish to the 2024 Unleash The Beast season. Action for Championship Sunday begins at 2:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.

While the world title race will take center stage on Sunday, Salgado and Fielder will resume the race for the most prestigious event title in the PBR, and they’re not taking any moment of it for granted.

“It’s my first time here,” Salgado said of AT&T Stadium. “When I walk into the arena there, I’m just happy I do my job.”

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media