READING, Pa. – In front of a sold-out Saturday night crowd in Reading, Pennsylvania, the Keystone State’s own Melvin Byler (Emlenton, Pennsylvania) rode his way to the winner’s circle, delivering the high-marked ride of the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event inside Santander Arena to win PBR Reading.
Going 1-for-3, Byler’s hopes of victory rested in his championship-round showdown after being tossed by Schizzo (J Bar W) in 3.57 seconds in Round 1 and Big Mouth (C-B Bucking Bulls) in 4.55 seconds in Round 2.
Rebounding in triumphant form, Byler conquered Smooth Criminal (Lucas Manning Bucking Bulls) for an unrivaled 86 points in the final round to clinch his career-first PBR event win.
The golden finish earned Byler a crucial 108 points in the race for the 2025 Velocity Tour Championship.
Round 1 winner Alisson de Souza (Taubate, Brazil) was second, netting 78 Velocity Global points.
Souza’s silver showing was headlined by his 84-point score atop Helena’s Pet (J Bar W) in the opening round. He fell short of the victory when he was bested by Nighttime Crime (Mike Miller Bucking Bulls) in 2.43 seconds in Round 2 and The Undertaker (Cornwell/Riley/PCP Bucking Bulls) in 2.3 seconds in the final round.
As the only other rider to reach the 8-second whistle, Eduardo de Oliveira (Nova Lacerda, Brazil) was third.
Oliveira parlayed a 56-point ride aboard Funny Farm (Cornwell Bucking Bulls/PCP Bucking Bulls) in Round 1 into 46 Velocity Global points.
PBR’s bovine athletes dominated the electric event in Reading, surrendering just three qualified rides in 67 attempts, registering buckoffs in 95.52% of the outs across the two-day event.
Tyrone (Cornwell Bucking Bulls/Rafter Bar J Cattle) and Angel’s Envy (CCL Bucking Bulls/Lone Star/Cornwell Bucking Bulls) bucked a cut above the rest, tying for the Bull of the Event honor. The powerful animal athletes were each marked an event-best 43.5 points in the championship round.
Tyrone lit up the scoreboard when he tossed Marlon Henrique (Brazil) in 1.4 seconds, while Angel’s Envy earned the top marks when he sent Alex Cantoral (Morales, Guatemala) airborne in 3.52 seconds.
The PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour next travels to Everett, Washington, on Feb. 14-15 and Memphis, Tennessee, on Feb. 15.
PBR Everett at Angel of the Winds Arena begins at 8 p.m. PT on Friday, Feb. 14, and 7 p.m. PT on Saturday, Feb. 15. PBR Memphis at FedExForum gets underway at 7 p.m. CT on Saturday, Feb. 15.
PBR RidePass on Pluto TV will offer re-airs and on-demand replays of PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour events and is available on desktops, laptops and mobile devices via www.pluto.tv.
PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour
PBR Reading
Santander Arena – Reading, Pennsylvania
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3- Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Melvin Byler, 0-0-86-86.00-108 Points.
2. Alisson De Souza, 84-0-0-84.00-78 Points.
3. Eduardo de Oliveira, 56-0-0-56.00-46 Points.
Grayson Cole [1], 0-0-0-0.00
Grayson Cole [2], 0-0-0-0.00
Andrei Scoparo, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Nance, 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Cantoral, 0-0-0-0.00
Eloisio Boaventura, 0-0-0-0.00
Douglas Franco, 0-0-0-0.00
Vinicius Rainer, 0-0-0-0.00
Bret Timmermans, 0-0-0-0.00
Varnei José Santana Junio, 0-0-0-0.00
Geferson Damascena, 0-0-0-0.00
Cristhian Felipe Pereira Maia, 0-0-0-0.00
Iuslei Rodrigues De Sousa, 0-0-0-0.00
Fabio Junior Borges, 0-0-0-0.00
Marlon Henrique, 0-0-0-0.00
Sergio Cantoral, 0-0-0-0.00
Douglas da Silva Barreto, 0-0-0-0.00
Mario Dubon, 0-0-0-0.00
Marco Anthonio Silva Santos, 0-0-0-0.00
Gustavo Junio Lima, 0-0-0-0.00
Walison Neves, 0-0-0-0.00
Nick Garramone, 0-0-0-0.00
Justin Van de Kemp [1], 0-0-0-0.00
Justin Van de Kemp [2], 0-0-0-0.00
Marcos Rodrigo De Oliveira Dutra, 0-0-0-0.00
Romaique Teixeira Rodrigues, 0-0-0-0.00
Jarlin Canales Avila, 0-0-0-0.00
Bruno Leite Dos Santos, 0-0-0-0.00
Photo courtesy of James Reuff
