NEW YORK CITY – In front of a sold-out Friday night crowd in New York City, two-time PBR (Professional Bull Riders) World Champion Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil) rode supreme, winning Round 1 of the Unleash The Beast’s PBR Monster Energy Buck Off at The Garden, presented by Ariat.

Leme, who rides for the Austin Gamblers in the separate PBR Teams league and previously won inside Madison Square Garden in 2023, was a near picture of perfection atop Roc Wit It (K-C Bucking Bulls/JoZ Bucking Bulls).

Dominating the bovine athlete for an unrivaled 89.75 points, Leme garnered 28 points in the race for the 2025 PBR World Championship and accompanying $1 million bonus. Chasing his record-tying third gold buckle this May, Leme climbed from No. 7 to No. 5 in the world. He now trails No. 1 John Crimber (Decatur, Texas), who did not register a score in Round 1, by 199.5 points.

Leme will take on Black Squirrel (Dave Martin/Mike Miller Bucking Bulls) in Round 2.

The opening night of the three-day event in the Big Apple also featured the debut 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.

The Empire State’s own New York Mavericks rode to victory, defeating the Florida Freedom 173.25-80.

The Mavericks were led by Mason Taylor (Maypearl, Texas), who recorded a solid 88.5-point ride aboard Tulsa Time (Kelly & Cami Heath/McCoy Rodeo). In addition to helping cement the game win for his team, the score also led Taylor to finish second in Round 1 of the Unleash The Beast event.

Collecting 18 Unleash The Beast points, Taylor climbed from No. 23 to No. 17 in the world. He will next attempt Gaucho (Barrett/Barnes Rodeo) as competition continues with Round 2 of the PBR Monster Energy Buck Off at The Garden on Saturday, Jan. 4.

“This is such a great venue; these are the best fans in the world,” Taylor said. “To represent the New York Mavericks makes it that much better. There are a lot of moving pieces, but I think we have a pretty solid team.”

Mauricio Moreira (Gaviao Peixoto, Brazil) also converted for New York, marked 84.75 points on Mahan (Jane Clark/Gene Owen). The two scores overpowered just one score by the Florida Freedom, contributed by Alex Cerqueira (Iguatemi, Brazil), who topped Blue Suede Shoes (Crescent City Bucking Bulls/Lari Crane/Gene Owen) for 80 points.

Returning to the top of the event leaderboard, the Austin Gamblers’ Dener Barbosa (Paulo de Faria, Brazil) and Oklahoma Wildcatters’ Clay Guiton (Cherryville, North Carolina) tied for third, each delivering matching 88-point rides to net 16.5 Unleash The Beast points.

Barbosa conquered Dark Thoughts (Blake Sharp/Henry Wilson), and Guiton outlasted Ridin’ Salty (Drink LMNT/McCoy Rodeo).

Barbosa, who drew Bad Intentions (K-C Bucking Bulls) in Round 2, rose from No. 12 to No. 9 in the standings, while Guiton, who next faces Dan-O (D4 Redline Pro Rodeo), rose six positions from No. 24 to No. 18.

Rounding out the Top 5 in Round 1 was the Texas Rattlers’ Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil). Viera made the requisite 8 on Wild Card (Blake Sharp/UB Bucking Company) for 87.25 points, earning 15 Unleash The Beast points. He rose from No. 30 to No. 28 in the world.

Action for the 2025 PBR Monster Energy Buck Off at The Garden, presented by Ariat, continues with Round 2 on Saturday, Jan. 4. Action gets underway at 7:45 p.m. ET. Tickets are still available and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com, MSG.com, and PBR.com.

All three nights of competition in New York City will be available LIVE and FREE on PBR’s X account (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 New York City continues on Saturday, Jan. 4.

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.

PBR Unleash The Beast
PBR Monster Energy Buckoff at The Garden, presented by Ariat
Madison Square Garden – New York City, New York 
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Jose Vitor Leme, 89.75-0-0-0-89.75-28 Points.
2. Mason Taylor, 88.5-0-0-0-88.50-18 Points.
3. Dener Barbosa, 88-0-0-0-88.00-16.5 Points.
(tie). Clay Guiton, 88-0-0-0-88.00-16.5 Points.
5. João Ricardo Vieira, 87.25-0-0-0-87.25-15 Points.
6. Dawson Branton, 86.75-0-0-0-86.75-14 Points.
7. Sage Steele Kimzey, 85.5-0-0-0-85.50-5 Points.
8. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 84.75-0-0-0-84.75-12 Points.
9. Claudio Montanha Jr., 84-0-0-0-84.00-11 Points.
10. Daylon Swearingen, 83.25-0-0-0-83.25-10 Points.
11. Alex Cerqueira, 80-0-0-0-80.00-9 Points.
12. Sandro Batista, 78.25-0-0-0-78.25-7 Points.
(tie). Vinicius Pinheiro Correa, 78.25-0-0-0-78.25-7 Points.
John Crimber, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Dalton Kasel, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Julio Cesar Marques, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Kaiden Loud, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cort McFadden, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Adriano Salgado, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Andrew Alvidrez, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Luciano De Castro, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Lucas Divino, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Austin Richardson, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Brady Fielder, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Anderson de Oliveira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Daniel Keeping, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Koltin Hevalow, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Elizmar Jeremias, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Hudson Bolton, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Kaique Pacheco, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Thiago Salgado, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Rogério Venâncio, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Boudreaux Campbell, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Marco Rizzo, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Wyatt Rogers, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Jake Morinec, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Nick Tetz, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Caden Bunch, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Alex Marcilio, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Tanner Eno, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Leandro Zampollo, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Marcelo De Souza Dias Junior, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media