Brady Fielder wins Round 1 of sold-out Unleash The Beast event in Chicagoland, cracks Top 15
Nashville Stampede beat Carolina Cowboys 251-0.00 in Smoky Mountain Showdown, the second rivalry game for the Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by Camping World.
By Kacie Albert
CHICAGO – In-front of a sold-out, Friday night crowd in Chicagoland, Australian sensation Brady Fielder (Clermont, Queensland, Australia) rode supreme, winning Round 1 of the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Unleash The Beast’s PBR Chicago, cracking the Top 15 in the race for the 2025 World Championship and accompanying $1 million bonus.
Fielder, who rides for the Texas Rattlers in the separate PBR Teams league, was one of 20 riders who converted Friday evening inside Allstate Arena, as PBR’s top riders covered 45.45% of their bovine athlete opponents.
As action got underway, Fielder was tasked with DirtyBru (Universal Pro Rodeo/Rachel & Dustin Powell/Delmas/Williams). In what proved to be a perfect pairing, Fielder rode the animal athlete with seeming ease as the electric crowd erupted in boisterous cheer. He was awarded an unrivaled 89.25 points, winning Round 1 and 28 Unleash The Beast points.
Fielder rose from No. 19 to No. 14 in the world standings as he chases his first World Championship this May. He now trails No. 1 John Crimber (Decatur, Texas) by 250.5 points.
The Florida Freedom’s Crimber finished ninth in Round 1, riding Gunsmoke (Lucas Manning Bucking Bulls) for 86.5 points to collect 11 Unleash The Beast points. He lost ground to No. 2 Dalton Kasel who parlayed an 88-point ride on Blackstone (Clay Struve/Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger) into a third-place finish and 17 Unleash The Beast points.
Kasel, a member of the 2024 PBR Teams Champion Austin Gamblers, is now within 47 points of top-ranked Crimber.
The opening night of the two-day event in Rosemont, Illinois, also featured the second installment of the Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by Camping World, an extension of the PBR Teams league that brings head-to-head, team vs. team bull riding games to the sport’s elite individual tour.
In dominating form, the Nashville Stampede beat the Carolina Cowboys 251-0.00, winning the Smoky Mountain Showdown. Nashville’s three scores were logged by Austin Richardson (Dallas, Texas), Anderson de Oliveira (Novo Mundo, Brazil) and Alan de Souza (Taubate, Brazil).
With their scores also counting towards the opening round of the main event, Richardson advances to Championship Saturday fourth having earned 16 Unleash The Beast points, rising from No. 17 to No. 15 in the world.
Oliveira is tenth and Souza is 19th.
Elsewhere on the leaderboard, the Texas Rattlers’ Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil) made history, logging his 1,000th career out as he rode Sin City (LH Cattle Co./2T Cattle Co.) for 86 points. He is now fifth in the PBR for all-time outs.
The score tied the 40-year-old veteran contender for 11th in Round 1. He earned 8.5 Unleash The Beast points and climbed one position in the world standings from No. 31 to No. 30.
Returning to the top of the event leaderboard, Claudio Montanha Jr. (Ribeirao dos Indios, Brazil) was second, garnering 18 Unleash The Beast points.
The Texas Rattler covered Rorschach (Universal Pro Rodeo/Rachel & Dustin Powell/Delmas/Williams) for 89 points. Earning 18 Unleash The Beast points, Montanha remained No. 12 in the world. He now trails No. 1 Crimber by 235.5 points.
Rounding out the Top 5 in fifth was the Oklahoma Wildcatters Cort McFadden (Novice, Texas).
McFadden outlasted Mouse Trap (Nothin’ But Try Ranch/Diggers Bucking Bulls) for 87.25 points. Collecting 15 Unleash The Beast points, McFadden remained No. 11 in the standings but climbed within 227.75 points of the top spot.
Action for the 2025 PBR Chicago will conclude with Round 2 and the championship round on Saturday, Jan. 11. Action gets underway at 7:45 p.m. CT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased online at Ticketmaster.com, Rosemont.com/allstate and PBR.com.
Both nights of competition in Chicago will be available LIVE and FREE on PBR’s X channel (https://x.com/PBR), RidePass on Pluto TV, PBR’s YouTube channel (https://www.youtube.com/@pbr), PBR’s mobile app (https://qrco.de/bdtdKp), and PBR’s app on connected TVs, including Apple TV, Fire TV, Roku and Google TV. The stream for PBR Chicago continues Saturday, Jan. 11.
PBR RidePass on Pluto TV will offer re-airs and on-demand replays of PBR Unleash The Beast events and is available on desktops, laptops and mobile devices via www.pluto.tv.
