ARLINGTON, Texas – On the first night of the 2025 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast – Championship, two-time World Champion Jose Vitor Leme was essentially flawless, winning both rounds and taking the lead in the World Finals event aggregate.

To any other rider, that would be the performance of a lifetime.

To Leme, it was just another day of work.

“I planned that, going out tonight and winning at least one round,” Leme said with a laugh, adjusting the two round win buckles in his arms. “I got both rounds, so this is amazing for me. That was a better start than I thought, for sure.”

If anyone could say that and be believed, it would be Leme.

The two-time World Champion is also a member of the 2024 PBR Camping World Team Series Champion Austin Gamblers, winning the regular-season MVP award in 2022 and 2023. Coming into the 2025 PBR World Finals, Leme was a career 29-for-43 (67%) with two World Finals event titles (2017, 2021).

Last weekend at Eliminations in Cowtown Coliseum in nearby Fort Worth, Leme went 4-for-4 to win that event, accumulating 353 points towards the Unleash The Beast standings and rising to No. 6.

The man is simply on another level when a championship is on the line, but this situation is new territory for him. Usually, Leme is competing at a World Finals from the front of the pack, in the No. 1 or No. 2 position. He came into this event ranked No. 18 after missing two months with a broken hand and has fought his way up to No. 4, but he’s still 446 points behind No. 1 Dalton Kasel.

But Kasel is 0-for-2 inside AT&T Stadium, and one rider can earn a maximum of 578 points.

A third world title, a third World Finals event title, and PBR history are still, incredibly, a possibility. He could become the third three-time World Champion in PBR history, joining Adriano Moraes and Silvano Alves, as well as the second rider after Robson Palermo to win three World Finals event titles.

“I thought I was going to be in a good position in the aggregate because I had two really good bulls, but not this good,” Leme said. “Not with these two buckles.”

Leme got things rolling with an 88.75-point ride on Ugly This in Round 1. He then turned in the highest-scoring ride of the night aboard Oyster Creek Brawler, earning 90.5 points.

“The first bull was a great start because I was able to keep that momentum coming from Eliminations,” he said. “I was a little bit like, ‘Now it’s time. This is the important one.’ So I wanted to keep going, but we never know. Today, we can be good, and tomorrow, you can be different and not ride as well.

“But I’m very, very, very happy about these two rounds. The first bull was really good to keep that momentum and go to the second one, and I had the opportunity to win the round again. It was a tough round for everybody, tough bulls, and I drew that bull. He was one of my first picks if I had to pick one. And everything worked out. Everything worked out pretty good for me tonight.”

Adding to the good juju? Leme won his first world title in AT&T Stadium in 2020. At that event, he went 3-for-5, clinching the world title several days early with a 95.75-point ride on Woopaa.

This is his first time competing in an individual event in AT&T Stadium since then.

“It’s amazing,” Leme said. “The first time, earlier today, when I walked into that arena again, all the memories from my first world title came into my mind. And I was like, ‘Dang, this energy – it’s different.’ I missed that. Not being able to ride at the Finals last year was kind of upsetting to me. This arena, it’s amazing. It reminds me of everything that I felt on my first title. And for sure, this kind of energy helps you a lot because you feel good, and you feel motivated to ride again.”

He’ll be riding again on Championship Sunday, taking on Lari’s Speck in Round 3 (2:45 p.m. ET on the PBR App, RidePass, YouTube, X and Facebook, and 3 p.m. ET on the Cowboy Channel).

Could Leme win a second world title in AT&T Stadium?

“I don’t know,” he said with a shrug, smiling coyly. “Maybe twice? Maybe? We’ll see. And I’ll have to pick which one is my favorite, Vegas or Arlington.”

Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media