(Editor's note: Professional Bull Riders release.)
BILLINGS — Down to the wire as the penultimate out Friday night at First Interstate Arena at MetraPark, Brady Fielder’s (Clermont, Queensland, Australia) 89-point score earned the Round 1 win of the 30th Cooper Tires PBR Billings Unleash The Beast event.
Paired with Lieutenant Dan, Fielder, who rides for the Texas Rattlers in the separate PBR Teams League, sailed through the air determined to reclaim the No. 1 spot in the standings. Despite still sitting at No. 2 in the world, his Friday night in Montana netted 28 UTB points as Fielder moves into Championship Saturday atop the leaderboard.
With only two regular-season events remaining in the regular season before the 2025 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast on May 8-18 in Texas, world leader Dalton Kasel (Muleshoe, Texas) also knocked down his bull, Whiplash for a lesser 88.25 points on Friday night as his lead over No. 2-ranked man Fielder was reduced to 37 points. The Austin Gamblers’ man earned a solid 16.5 UTB points it but wasn’t enough to claim the round win.
Kasel shared third place in the round with the No. 3-ranked man in the race for a gold buckle, John Crimber (Decatur, Texas). Crimber, who rides for the Florida Freedom, rocketed from the chutes aboard Karizma, earning a matching 88.25 points but still putting him 1-for-1 on a night with 14 qualified rides.
The 16.5 UTB points earned put Crimber 292.5 points behind Fielder and 329.5 points behind Kasel.
Sage Kimzey (Strong City, Oklahoma) clings to the No. 4 spot in the world title race despite being thrashed to the ground by Shank after 2.68 seconds.
Missouri Thunder athlete, Paulo Eduardo Rossetto (Colorado, Brazil) had an equally disappointing night as Kimzey as Greasy Bend tossed him aside at 6.85 seconds. Despite the opening night slump in Magic City, Rossetto still holds his place at No. 5 in the standings.
Holding his own on Friday night was veteran Arizona Ridge Rider Luciano De Castro (Guzolandia, Brazil) with a second-place finish. His 88.5-point ride aboard Night Agent earned 18 UTB points to move the lanky Brazilian from No. 8 to No. 7 in the world standings.
Returning to action one week prior in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, after being sidelined for nine events due to injury, was two-time PBR World Champion Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil).
Leme, launched from the chutes aboard Rank Hank for an 88-point score and netted 15 UTB points. The two-time MVP for the Austin Gamblers in the separate PBR Teams league held strong at No. 30 in the race for the world championship.
Action for the Cooper Tires PBR Billings will continue with Round 2 followed immediately by the championship round on Saturday beginning at 6:45 p.m.
