(Editor's note: PBR release)
GREENSBORO, N.C. – As the dirt settled from PBR’s 13th elite series stop inside Greensboro Coliseum, Brazilian veteran Claudio Montanha Jr. (Pacaembu, Brazil) climbed to the top of the Can-Am Cage, hoisting his first Unleash The Beast buckle since 2019.
Last victorious in Columbus, Ohio, the 32-year-old Montanha put together a perfect 3-for-3 performance at the PBR Union Home Mortgage Invitational, presented by Bass Pro Shops en route to the win.
Finishing second in Round 1 with an 89-point ride on Express Lane (Rickey West Bucking Bulls/2R Bucking Bulls), Montanha parlayed his Saturday night success into a pair of commanding rides to reign supreme on championship Sunday.
Matching up with Milk Man (TNT Bucking Bulls/Hart Cattle Co) in Round 2, Montanha made the 8-second whistle for an 88.75-point score, putting him in the lead heading into the championship round draft.
The four-time PBR World Finals qualifier selected CopperPoint Swagger (Hart Cattle Co/Hale) as his championship round opponent and, on the last out of the event, blew out of the chutes in front of a crowd full of anticipation. Montanha conquered his bovine foe on the way to the whistle for an 88-point ride, securing the walk-off event win.
Montanha earned 144 world points and $29,641.27 with the win. Entering the event narrowly inside the Top 30 in the world at No. 29, the Brazilian sky rocketed to his new No. 17 spot.
Continuing his chase for his first PBR World Championship, veteran Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil) also went a perfect 3-for-3 on the weekend, finishing second.
After winning Round 1 with a 90.25-point masting of Viper (Cord McCoy/Big Sky Bulls, LLC), Vieira matched up with Texas Blood (Blake Sharp/Henry Wilson) in Round 2.
The Round 2 out produced an 84.5-point trip, which sent Vieira down to third in the championship round draft.
Still left with plenty of bull power to choose from, the 37-year-old drafted Diddy Wa Diddy (Cord McCoy/Bill McCarty) and turned in his second 90-point ride of the weekend with the 90.75-point score.
With two round wins on the weekend and the second-place finish, Vieira earned 118 world points during the event, enabling him to close in on No. 3 Cooper Davis (Jasper, Texas), who was 1-for-3 on the weekend. Vieira now trails Davis by 266 points.
Vieira’s efforts also earned him a $20,098.49 payday.
Marco Eguchi (Poa, Brazil) was one of only two riders to go 2-for-3 on the weekend and finished third. Dang It (Davis Rodeo Ranch/Ed & Cindy Fogle) had helped Eguchi to fourth in Round 1 on Saturday night with an 87-point ride.
Grey Smoke (Hart Cattle Company) held Eguchi in the Top 3 in Round 2 as the pair danced their way to an 88-point mark.
Drafting First Down (Hart Cattle Co./Farris) in the championship round, Eguchi was ditched by the bovine athlete in 4.21 seconds.
The 2018 PBR World Finals event winner picked up 70 crucial world points with the bronze finish, moving him two spots to No. 13 in the world. Eguchi also took home $12,154.53.
Three-time PBR World Champion Silvano Alves (Pilar do Sul, Brazil) added onto his resurgence in 2021 with another Top 5 finish, this time riding into fourth.
Alves had covered Hammered Down (Davis Rodeo Ranch/D&H Cattle) in Round 1 for 83.75 points and returned on Sunday to best Roulette (Torres Brother Bucking Bulls LLC) for 84.75 points in Round 2.
Walking Tall (Davis Rodeo Ranch) bucked Alves off in 4.78 seconds in the championship round, ending Alves’s bid for another late-season event-win.
Alves also picked up a second-place finish in the event’s 15/15 Bucking Battle on Saturday night, matching Detroit Lean (Blake Sharp/Henry Wilson) jump-for-jump on the way to a 90.5-point score. The runner-up finish in the special round gave Alves another 49 world points.
The Brazilian legend earned 93 world points on the weekend, which moved him one spot to No. 14.
Boudreaux Campbell (Crockett, Texas), the reigning PBR Rookie of the Year, rounded out the Top 5 this weekend.
Campbell’s 88.75-point ride on Caddyshack (Blake Sharp/Paige Stout/Lukas Banning Bucking Bulls) in Round 1 was enough for the fifth-place finish.
Campbell hit the ground before the 8-second whistle in Round 2, coming off of Wicked Hou (Hart Cattle Co/Hale/Randy Wood) in 6.2 seconds, and again in the championship round in 4.95 seconds as Homegrown (Cord McCoy/Chad Reese) prevailed.
The highest-finishing American in the event, Campbell earned 34 world points, holding him in the No. 6 spot in the world standings.
In just his second year on the UTB tour, Brazilian Mauricio Gulla Moreira (Gaviao Peixoto, Brazil) continues to garner attention.
In Greensboro, the 22-year-old picked up his second 15/15 Bucking Battle win of the season on Saturday night with his 90.75-point ride on I’m Legit Too (Hart Cattle Co/Hale).
Earning 59 world points for the victory in the special round, Moreira further cemented himself in the No. 7 spot in the world.
For the first time since the tour’s Fort Worth, Texas, stop, there was a tie in the event’s YETI Built For the Wild Bull of the Event. Both Blue Crush (Cord McCoy/Chad Reese) and Jersey Tuff (McClellan/Lidgard/Hart) turned in 45.75-point outs in the 15/15 Bucking Battle to split the honor, their first of the season.
PBR’s Top 30 riders and the UTB tour now turn north, to Manchester, New Hampshire, for next weekend’s Monster Energy Invitational, Oct. 15-16 in SNHU Arena.
Elsewhere in the PBR, Austin Beaty (Bedford, Virginia) captured his career-first event win, topping the field at the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s Wheeling Invitational in West Virginia.
Beaty was one of six riders to register a qualified ride in Round 1 inside WesBanco Arena, covering Zacchaeus (Jenkins Cattle Co.) for 85 points.
Beaty returned determined on Championship Saturday, surging to the top of the event leaderboard after tying for the Round 2 victory compliments of his 87-point effort aboard How Bout It (UTC/Sellers Bucking Bulls).
While the Virginia native was unable to conclude the event making the 8-second whistle, dispatched by Cutthroat (Cornwell Bucking Bulls) in 2.34 seconds in the championship round, Beaty’s initial scores were enough to clinch the golden finish.
Beaty earned 37 world points and is now ranked No. 89 in the world.
PBR’s finest were also hard at work abroad this weekend as the league’s Australian Monster Energy Tour bucked into BB Print Stadium in Mackay, Queensland.
Backed by a dominant Round 1-winning ride, Aaron Kleier (Clermont, Queensland) won the PBR Mackay Invitational, presented by Kent Hire, furthering his lead as No. 1 in the race for the 2021 PBR Australia Championship.
Should Kleier win the national title an unprecedented fourth consecutive time in 2021, the Queensland sensation would tie David Kennedy (Kyogle, New South Wales) for most Australian national titles won by one rider in league history. Kennedy topped the national standings in 2009-2010, 2012 and 2014.
Kleier surged to the golden finish in his home state after covering Meet Ya Maker (Brandenburg/MJ Bucking Bulls) for an event-best 84.5 points in the opening round of competition.
Kleier was unable to accept a re-ride after Red Flash (Fred Kleier) fell during their Round 2 out, and left him with an injury that relegated him to the sidelines.
Kleier’s opening-round score, however, was enough to clinch the Clermont-native’s league-leading third event win of the year. Kleier is also now tied for most round wins by one rider in 2021 with four.
For his efforts Kleier earned a critical 65 Australian points and extended his lead atop the national standings. He now leads No. 2 Kurt Shephard (Mareeba, Queensland) by 136.33 points.
Professional Bull Riders
PBR UNIONHOME MORTGAGE INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY BASS PRO SHOP
Greensboro, North Carolina, Greensboro Coliseum
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Claudio Montanha Jr., 89-88.75-88-265.75-144 Points.
2. João Ricardo Vieira, 90.25-84.5-90.75-265.50-118 Points.
3. Marco Eguchi, 87-88-0-175.00-70 Points.
4. Silvano Alves, 83.75-84.75-0-168.50-44 Points.
5. Boudreaux Campbell, 88.75-0-0-88.75-34 Points.
6. João Henrique Lucas, 0-87.75-0-87.75-29 Points.
7. Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-87.25-0-87.25-22 Points.
8. Cooper Davis, 0-87-0-87.00-20 Points.
9. Lucas Divino, 0-86.75-0-86.75-18 Points.
10. Conner Halverson, 86.5-0-0-86.50-16.5 Points.
(tie). Adriano Salgado, 0-86.5-0-86.50-14.5 Points.
12. Junior Patrik Souza, 86-0-0-86.00-14 Points.
13. Eduardo Aparecido, 0-85.25-0-85.25-12 Points.
14. Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 85-0-0-85.00-13 Points.
15. Fernando Henrique Novais, 83.5-0-0-83.50-11 Points.
16. Eli Vastbinder, 81.5-0-0-81.50-10 Points.
Kaique Pacheco, 0-0-0-0.00
Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0-0.00
Dalton Kasel, 0-0-0-0.00
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0.00
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0.00
Chase Dougherty, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Teel, 0-0-0-0.00
Jesse Petri, 0-0-0-0.00
Daylon Swearingen, 0-0-0-0.00
Mason Taylor, 0-0-0-0.00
Andrew Alvidrez, 0-0-0-0.00
Cole Melancon, 0-0-0-0.00
Manoelito de Souza Junior, 0-0-0-0.00
Thiago Salgado, 0-0-0-0.00
Brennon Eldred, 0-0-0-0.00
Carlos Garcia, 0-0-0-0.00
2021 Professional Bull Riders World Standings
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5's, Points, Total Winnings)
1. Jose Vitor Leme, 35, 11, 21, 2,100.50, $469,457.92
2. Kaique Pacheco, 41, 6, 15, 1,374.00, $228,142.50
3. Cooper Davis, 37, 3, 17, 1,311.50, $199,821.21
4. João Ricardo Vieira, 44, 2, 10, 1,045.50, $154,345.51
5. Dener Barbosa, 43, 3, 14, 826.83, $123,394.14
6. Boudreaux Campbell, 32, 3, 6, 732.50, $143,042.09
7. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 49, 3, 10, 688.00, $112,523.76
8. Derek Kolbaba, 42, 2, 8, 621.50, $112,765.73
9. Dalton Kasel, 30, 3, 9, 581.25, $139,457.24
10. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 46, 3, 10, 571.00, $89,311.80
11. Junior Patrik Souza, 50, 2, 9, 547.50, $95,363.29
12. Chase Dougherty, 45, 2, 12, 524.50, $91,796.42
13. Marco Eguchi, 30, 1, 7, 505.50, $77,305.90
14. Silvano Alves, 45, 0, 7, 499.50, $58,304.97
15. Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 25, 3, 5, 480.00, $71,531.29
16. Cody Teel, 36, 1, 6, 427.50, $68,530.14
17. Claudio Montanha Jr., 37, 1, 4, 411.50, $120,667.16
18. João Henrique Lucas, 36, 0, 5, 402.00, $52,094.94
19. Jesse Petri, 40, 1, 5, 385.58, $46,987.92
20. Paulo Ferreira Lima, 24, 2, 4, 377.83, $140,161.32
21. Cody Jesus, 19, 2, 7, 376.50, $72,064.51
22. Eli Vastbinder, 43, 2, 8, 367.50, $68,899.08
23. Alex Cerqueira, 25, 0, 4, 343.00, $46,872.01
24. Colten Fritzlan, 17, 1, 4, 339.50, $55,653.36
25. Daylon Swearingen, 29, 2, 13, 310.00, $87,905.32
26. Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 35, 1, 4, 306.00, $36,424.34
27. Eduardo Aparecido, 28, 0, 2, 297.50, $38,217.32
28. Austin Richardson, 30, 1, 6, 276.00, $47,736.43
29. Mason Taylor, 28, 2, 5, 274.50, $48,300.23
30. Andrew Alvidrez, 34, 2, 5, 264.75, $43,520.88
31. Cole Melancon, 26, 0, 3, 263.50, $40,146.29
32. Ezekiel Mitchell, 34, 3, 4, 249.00, $34,868.58
33. Manoelito de Souza Junior, 23, 1, 7, 223.00, $39,063.41
34. Cody Nance, 24, 0, 6, 198.16, $30,280.86
35. Conner Halverson, 42, 2, 4, 189.00, $27,738.04
36. Taylor Toves, 25, 0, 2, 187.00, $28,448.21
37. Thiago Salgado, 30, 0, 5, 184.00, $31,077.07
38. Adriano Salgado, 15, 1, 4, 171.00, $24,428.57
39. Lucas Divino, 21, 0, 2, 166.00, $32,066.04
40. Kyler Oliver, 7, 0, 1, 163.00, $23,452.09
41. Fernando Henrique Novais, 19, 0, 4, 157.50, $26,751.13
42. Caic Cassio Carvalho, 9, 1, 2, 136.00, $20,046.08
43. Luciano De Castro, 26, 0, 9, 131.83, $37,962.78
44. Michael Lane, 24, 2, 4, 128.00, $21,633.17
45. Aaron Kleier, 14, 4, 10, 124.00, $24,418.56
