FORT WORTH, Texas – To everyone who thought the 2024 World Championship race was a runaway: think again.
John Crimber isn’t about to go down without a fight.
After beginning the 2024 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast – Eliminations 0-for-2, Crimber turned it on over the weekend.
He started with 89.25 points on Brown Bomber and a Round 3 win on Saturday and followed that up with 89.75 points on Ugly This and a Round 4 win on Sunday.
“I picked that bull because he bucked me off, but I remembered why he bucked me off,” Crimber said, holding his Round 4 buckle and a big check for $35,000. “He was pretty dang hard to ride, but I just kept fighting. He had me beat around there a couple of times, and all I did was stay on. I just kept my hand shut, kept trying. I knew it was going to be a very crucial ride if I stayed on him because the world title race is pretty close right now, but I just kept my hand shut and let it all hang out.”
Even nicer than the buckle and the check, though, were the 253 points Crimber earned towards the Unleash The Beast World Championship standings.
It allowed him to gain ground on No. 1 Cassio Dias, who didn’t compete on Sunday due to injury. Dias, however, went 2-for-3 before doctoring out and placed third in the event aggregate, earning 180 points toward the standings.
Crimber now trails Dias by 487.5 points as he looks ahead to the Championship Rounds at AT&T Stadium on May 18-19.
The World Finals event winner – the rider with the highest aggregate score in the four Championship rounds – receives 400 points.
Crimber’s shot at the world title is suddenly much more real.
“It feels amazing,” he said. “Being at my first World Finals, I didn’t think I was going to do this good. The beginning was kind of rough, and I think no one really believed in me anymore. But I knew I still had the capability to stay on everything. So it all happened good, and I can’t give the glory to God enough. He’s the one that did all of this for me.”
However, you won’t find the 18-year-old rookie phenom in the back crunching numbers.
“I’m just really trying to stay on,” Crimber said. “Just stay on. That’s the main thing. I’m not really worried about points right now. Just going to go bull for bull and see how everything plays out.”
Crimber has looked like an entirely new rider in the latter two rounds of Eliminations. With his favorite college football player, Travis Hunter, in attendance on Saturday, Crimber hit the Heisman pose after his ride. He had his normal confidence back on Sunday and truly looks like he’s found his groove again.
“Oh, I’m living the dream,” Crimber said. “I’ve dreamed about this my whole life. Being here at Cowtown Coliseum makes it even better because this is my home away from home. I live 35 minutes away from here, so I’m going to go back to the house now and hang out with all the buddies and celebrate a little, I think.”
Crimber now has almost a week off before his battle begins anew at AT&T Stadium.
In his corner all weekend – and all season, and for his entire life – is his dad, Paulo Crimber, a 10-time PBR World Finals qualifier. Having someone who’s been there before, John says, has been incredibly helpful as he prepares for his gold buckle chase to reach its conclusion.
“He told me to keep my head straight and never count myself out because anything can happen,” Crimber said. “So I started believing in that, believing in myself a little bit more. That’s really what he’s been telling me. And my mom really has been helping me a lot with my mental game, too, just same old, same old. Just keep my head straight. That’s it.”
INJURY UPDATE
No. 1 Cassio Dias suffered perhaps the biggest blow to his world title hopes this season on Saturday night, when he was bucked off and stepped on by Norse God in Round 3.
Dias was carried off the dirt on a backboard and taken to the hospital, where he remains in good spirits. According to LeeAnn Hart, wife of Dias’s Kansas City Outlaws coach J.W. Hart, all he can talk about is how much he wants to ride.
"I am not giving up,” Dias said. “They're running more tests and scans to make sure I am safe to ride next weekend. I want to thank all of my fans for their support. I'm ready to put my boots on and keep fighting."
Dias also posted a video on Instagram from his hospital bed with the update that he will not need surgery.
“I had some little fractures on my back and ribs, but thank God everything is okay,” Dias said in an Instagram video. “I am here doing everything the doctors are asking me to do. I am recovering and getting better. I just wanted to thank you for all the prayers. May God bless you, and happy Mother’s Day for all of the moms in Brazil. I’ll be back in the arenas very soon.”
Dias will see a back specialist tomorrow to see if he’s cleared to compete at AT&T Stadium. With 756 points available for one rider to win in the Championship Rounds, the only riders that could knock him out of the top spot are Crimber (487.5 points behind), No. 3 Eduardo Aparecido (-686.33 points) and No. 4 Dalton Kasel (-751.33 points).
Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media
