FORT WORTH, Texas – If fans remember correctly, last year’s eventual 2024 PBR World Champion Cassio Dias stormed into his rookie campaign and won a tour-best seven regular season events en route to later claiming the prized gold buckle inside AT&T Stadium.
Well, No. 1 Dalton Kasel is a bit removed from his first go within premier series competition.
And he might not be able to tie the Kansas City Outlaws rider's insane seven event titles from 2024.
But with a circuit-pacing five event wins already to his name and one more regular season showcase up for grabs this weekend in Tacoma, Washington, “Mr. 90 Point” can come damn close to matching the mark.
With the single-season record continuing to revolve around the magic No. 8, with Justin McBride originally hitting the mark back in 2005 and Jose Vitor Leme most recently accomplishing the feat in 2021, the record books really paint some perspective for both Dias and Kasel’s respective runs.
All while proving just how much has to fall in a rider’s favor to even get close to said mark.
And reminding fans and fellow cowboys alike what a championship-worthy grind looks and feels like. Just ask of the tour’s 40-some other competitors who have witnessed Kasel’s next-level run lately.
Sure, he’s got five wins on his resume throughout the season (now three more than any other man who’s entered the chutes this year).
But when we consider four of them have been achieved within the past seven outings, it’s becoming quite clear he’s not only heating up at the perfect time. He’s very much got his eyes on securing the Jerome Robinson Cup next month.
Having already captured 12 round wins ahead of his dominating Week 22 performance, it’s been clear the small-framed rider has been showing his bulls off at an insane rate.
Starting up another saucy stint via his first-ever conversion within Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by Camping World, competition, Kasel bested Whip during a rematch attempt for a solid 87 points as his weekend was off to a quick start.
That wouldn’t serve as a reason to slow down his efforts during his remaining time hanging in Nampa, Idaho, however, as Kasel went on to claim both round wins when Saturday rolled around.
Initially exiting his head-to-head dance with Peanut for a Round 2-winning 89.25-pointer, the 26-year-old once again positioned himself for a fruitful selection in the short round bull draft.
Later opting into a showdown against Manaba – well, he did what he does best: Record rank rides and cause crowds to explode in raucous approval.
Taking home a welcome $52,213 for his big win, alongside an encouraging 151 UTB points, there wasn’t a better way for Kasel to “float” out of Ford Idaho Center after recording his tour-best tenth Top 5 effort and 16th different Top 15 finish of the season.
Advancing his personal slate to 32-for-58 (55.17%) on the season, he may be atop the overall Unleash The Beast standings but the Muleshoe, Texas, native remains tied with No. 5 Luciano De Castro and No. 9 Cort McFadden with the second-most conversions on tour, still five qualified rides behind No. 2 Brady Fielder.
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Of course, Kasel has amassed $350,078 to Fielder’s $221,681 in 2025 winnings, courtesy of his five event wins and fourteen round wins.
Bringing a 187-point lead over Fielder into this weekend’s approaching PBR Tacoma with just one regular season event separating the pack from the 2025 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast – Eliminations, this is 100% Kasel’s world.
Everybody else is just riding in it, right now.
Back to take a look at some of the rankest rides and craziest occurrences from the weekend, By the Numbers returns to break down Kasel’s fifth win, a trio of successful Austin Gamblers and tons of other outlying numerals from last weekend’s showcase in Nampa, Idaho!
1.25: Making the most of the late-season stretch after missing a solid chunk of his campaign due to injury, two-time World Champion Jose Vitor Leme continues to heat up, most recently finishing just 1.25 points behind Kasel in Saturday night’s aggregate. Having now recorded three-straight Top 7 efforts (which includes his runner-up effort in Nampa flanked by a fifth-place finish in Billings, Montana, the weekend prior and a No. 7 placement during his first contest back atop the chutes in Sioux Falls, South Dakota), he’s successfully turned things up a notch during each of his three appearances, officially 7-for-10 since returning to the sport he loves in early April.
A perfect 3-for-3 inside Ford Idaho Center, Leme exited dances with Buckaroo (87 points), Rank Hank (88.25 points) and Lights Out (88.25 points) as he soared to just his second podium feat of the season. Up to the No. 19 rank, Leme currently sits 48.33 UTB points behind No. 15 Anderson de Oliveira, meaning he’s very much got a shot to position himself within the Top 15 ahead of next month’s 2025 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast – Eliminations. If he finds himself ranked No. 15 or better come May 11, he won’t need to participate in Cowtown Coliseum’s Ride For Redemptions sessions, instead automatically qualifying to compete inside AT&T Stadium May 17-18.
Three 8s 4 No. 8: Pretty much a regular Top-10 ranked rider for a majority of the season, No. 8 Kaique Pacheco knew he likely doesn’t need to be balling out over the course of these few regular season showcases in order to secure a coveted Top 15 spot. He’s essentially already locked that up. However, if the Brazilian was interested in improving his odds at securing a second gold buckle, he understood he has the skillset it takes to make a push during the final month of top-tier competition. So, he put on his best hat and pieced together a 3-for-3 performance in Week 22, thus bringing home his tenth Top 10 finish of the season.
Just like his fellow countryman in Leme, he seems to be getting hot throughout the spring slate, managing three Top 10 finishes within his last four appearances (including third, sixth and ninth-place results, respectively). Hell, Pacheco would’ve had a sincere shot at replacing Kasel atop the shark cage had he not accepted a 78.75-point conversion aboard HomeBru during his time representing the Gamblers within METC competition. Had his coach and team not wanted to take the ”safe approach,” the Ice Man may have taken home a much bigger check. Settling for $15,183 and still-welcome 70 UTB points, he remains 675 points behind No. 1 Kasel. So, he’ll need to make some noise inside Tacoma Dome this weekend if he wants a true shot at chasing him down.
10-4-13: Since being acquired by the Carolina Cowboys from the Oklahoma Wildcatters, Clay Guiton has been riding like he’s representing his home state team: Because he is! Representing his hometown of Cherryville, North Carolina, quite well the past month, he’s now 10-for-13 over the course of the tour’s past four events as he’s making it known he’d like a shot at the sport’s grandest prize.
Just two weeks after claiming his career-first UTB victory in Sioux Falls, Guiton turned in an encouraging 2-for-3 record last weekend in Nampa to record his third Top 5 finish within his last four appearances. Arguably the hottest rider on tour right now, outside Kasel, who continues to win event and rounds like he’s riding for his life, the 19-year-old survived the requisite 8 atop Washita Red (86 points) and Bookers Bandit (86.5 points) en route to earning a fifth-place finish. Improving to the No. 10 rank during his sophomore season, he’s using some motivation from his successful, albeit abbreviated rookie run in forging a chance to compete in his first-ever PBR World Finals next month.
No. 43 & Climbing: After beginning the UTB season with an uncharacteristic 0-for-9 slate, Ezekiel Mitchell took advantage of his invite to compete with the Texas Rattlers, parlaying the “ride or go home” opportunity in Round 1 into a fourth-place finish come Saturday night, which serves as Mitchell’s best premier series finish since March of 2024, when he logged a third-place effort in Little Rock, Arkansas.
Going 2-for-3 overall, Mitchell initially besting Bamboozle for a solid 87 points as he stirred up some momentum for the 2023 PBR Teams Champions. Later converting atop Ah Hell for a quality 86.75 points, he would settle for his first Top 5 finish of the campaign after a short round stumble. Ranked No. 43 within the Unleash The Beast standings, he’s got a chance to get above the No. 40 cutline ahead of next month’s 2025 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast during the tour’s final regular season showdown in Tacoma, Washington, April 26-27. That is, if he receives another invite courtesy of his spot within PBR’s Velocity Global rankings, where he currently ranks No. 10. If not, there’s still a chance the Rockdale, Texas, native can qualify for the season-culminating showdown pending his performance at next weekend’s Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals in Corpus Christi, Texas.
259.25-252.75: For as much of a role as Head Coach Cody Lambert played atop the chutes, Friday night’s ever-epic conclusion to the Land.com Texas Cup shootout revolved around three Texas Rattlers in Callum Miller, Ezekiel Mitchell and Daniel Keeping, as the 2023 PBR Teams Champions claimed the best-of-three series within Monster Energy Team Challenge, presented by Camping World, over the Austin Gamblers.
RELATED: Texas Rattlers defeat Austin Gamblers 259.25-252.75 to claim Land.com Texas Cup
Claiming the win, 259.25-252.75, Keeping (83 points) got things started during the team’s opening out, only to see Miller chip in a game-high 89.25 points moments later, which would represent the Australian’s best score within UTB competition to date!
Joining Miller in competing against his former squad, Mitchell went the distance to provide his new team its third and final conversion, scored 87 points atop Bamboozle. Everything was flowing in the Rattlers favor Friday. But when the event concluded inside Ford Idaho Center on Championship Saturday, the podium was full of Gamblers riders, with Kasel winning his fifth title of the season and both Leme and Pacheco piecing together encouraging 3-for-3 performances.
Primed to conclude the 15-session “game within a game” format, the New York Mavericks and Florida Freedom will don the stage for the final 6 vs. 6 showcase of the season next weekend in Tacoma, Washington, as fans prepare for the fourth iteration of PBR Camping World Team Series action!
Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media