(Editor's note: PBR release)
SACRAMENTO – Mauricio Gulla Moreira (Gaviao Peixoto, Brazil) delivered a dominant 4-for-4 performance at Sacramento’s PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Unleash The Beast (UTB), winning the PBR Wrangler Long Live Cowboys Classic, presented by Bass Pro Shops, on Sunday afternoon, his fourth career win on the PBR’s premier series.
After third-place finishes on both Friday and Saturday night, the 22-year-old Brazilian began the final day of the event in second place on the leaderboard and was paired with Redginator (Diamond Bar Cattle/ Premier Ag) in Round 3.
Exploding from the chutes with his bovine opponent, he collected an 88.25-point score to sail into the championship round.
Moreira then selected WSM’s Jive Turkey (WSM Auctioneers/ Clay Struve/ Dakota Rodeo/ Chad Berger) as his matchup in the final round.
The cheers inside Golden 1 Center rose to a deafening roar as Moreira’s 91.75-point score – his first 90-point score in 2022 – was announced, clinching his first event win of the season.
While three other riders went 4-for-4 on the weekend, including two other 90-point rides in the championship round, Moreira reigned supreme with an aggregate score of 356.75.
He collected 176 world points, rocketing from No. 59 in the world standings as the weekend began to No. 7, and a check for $45,786.67.
World No. 1 Joao Ricardo Vieira’s (Itatinga, Brazil) weekend didn’t go as planned as the grizzled veteran went 2-for-3, not making it to the championship round. Despite conquering his bovine opponents on both Friday and Saturday nights, Vieira’s Round 3 ride aboard Lil Loco (Paradigm Bull Co/ Flying High Rodeo Co) ended at 3.83 seconds when his free hand grazed the bull.
Despite the setbacks in Sacramento, Vieira still holds the No. 1 spot in the world standings with young gun Kyler Oliver (Roy, Utah) hot on his heels, just 9.5 points behind.
Reigning 2021 PBR World Champion Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio, Brazil) also had a less-than-impressive weekend, going 1-for-3. Starting off the weekend in seemingly normal form, Leme rode Crazy Corona (Jeb Fredericks/ M Rafter E Bucking Bulls/ Dakota Rodeo/ Chad Berger) in Friday’s Round 1 for 86.25 points.
However, the Brazilian attempting to become the first rider in PBR history to win three straight world titles bucked off both his Round 2 and Round 3 bulls and did not make it into the championship round. Leme consequently fell in the world standings from the No. 16 spot where he began the weekend to No. 22 as the event rolled to a close.
2019 PBR Rookie of the Year Dalton Kasel (Muleshoe, Texas) also made his mark in Sacramento, going 4-for-4 for a second-place finish. Although not as spectacular as his 2021 event win in Sacramento, the runner-up spot earned him $23,527.67 and 138 world points.
Early on Sunday afternoon, Kasel was paired with Yadi (Dennis & Jan Owens/ Joe Cefalu/ Chad Berger) for Round 3. His 87-point score, combined with his Round 1 win and Round 2 third-place finish, paved his way to the championship round.
With the first pick, Kasel then chose Nasty Wishes (Culp Bucking Bulls/ Diamond J) in the championship round, riding him for an impressive 90.5 points.
Kasel now holds the No. 5 spot in the world standings after coming into Sacramento at No. 12.
Luciano de Castro (Guzolandia, Brazil) kept the 4-for-4 streak going to finish in third place.
After a Round 2 win on Saturday night, the lanky Brazilian collected an 85.25-point ride in Round 3 aboard Lone Star (Diamond Bar Cattle/ L&B Bucking Bulls).
Castro then chose Marquis Metal Works Coriolis Effect (Paradigm Bull Co/ Marquis Metal Works) for the championship round. As fans and his fellow countrymen alike cheered him on, Castro bested the talented bovine for 85.25 points.
Collecting 108.5 world points and $14,645, Castro now sits at No. 10 in the world standings.
The final rider to go 4-for-4, Eli Vastbinder (Statesville. North Carolina) finished fourth in California.
Paired with Classic Man (Humpz and Hornz/ Megan Ibrahimi) in Round 3, Vastbinder launched from the chutes with dirt flying for an 88.25-point score.
The North Carolina cowboy then selected Butterfly Kisses (Copenhaver/ Rockin T) for the championship round in hopes of catapulting himself up the leaderboard. In control for 8 seconds, Vastbinder bested his bovine opponent to receive a 90-point score, the third of the final round.
Vastbinder now holds the No. 11 spot in the world standings after collecting 80 world points and a check for $9,101.
Nineteen-year-old Bob Mitchell (Steelville, Missouri) rounded out the Top 5 of the weekend with a 3-for-4 performance.
Mitchell was paired with Stretch (Heald Pro Bulls/ Clay Struve/ Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger) in Round 3, recording 76.75 points. In the championship round, his selection of Total Feeds Bushwacked (Ohl/ Herb/ McDowell/ Comozzi) had the crowd cheering but ended after just 6.44 seconds.
Despite Mitchell’s anticlimactic Sunday conclusion, he earned 40 world points. He now sits in the No. 19 spot in the world standings after beginning the weekend at No. 20.
The PBR Unleash The Beast next travels to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Fiserv Forum for the PBR Ariat Invitational, on Friday, Feb. 4 at 7:45 p.m. CST and Saturday, Feb. 5 at 6:45 p.m. CST.
Elsewhere in the PBR, the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour (PWVT) was in action in both Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Jacksonville, Florida.
In Michigan for the PBR Tractor Supply Co. Classic at Van Andel Arena, four-time PBR World Finals qualifier Ramon de Lima (Rio Branco, Brazil) was the lone rider to go a perfect 3-for-3 and clinched his second career win on the organization’s expansion series.
Lima first struck in Round 1, tying for eighth when he made the 8 aboard Hammerhead (Cornwell Bucking Bulls) for 83 points. He continued his momentum as Championship Saturday got underway, surging to third on the event leaderboard when he rode Lucas Oil’s Dirt Track Dirty (Cornwell Bucking Bulls/Lucas Oil) for 84.5 points in Round 2. In the championship round, Lima clinched the golden finish when he went the distance atop Game Day (Generations Pro Rodeo, Inc.) for 84.5 points.
Lima earned a critical 36.5 world points and catapulted 61 positions in the world standings, surging from No. 98 to No. 40.
Across the country in Florida for the PBR Jacksonville Invitational at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena, Native American standout Dakota Louis (Browning, Montana) was dominant in going a perfect 2-for-2 to win the tour stop. Louis garnered 39 world points to climb from No. 124 to No. 43 in the 2022 PBR World Championship race.
In Round 1, Louis matched Judgement Day (Lucas Manning Bucking Bulls) jump-for-jump and was marked a round-winning 86 points.
Sitting atop the event leaderboard, Louis was the last rider to leave the chutes in the championship round, and he rode Stetson (Perot Bucking Bulls/CG Bucking Bulls/Big Rafter Rodeo) for 81 points to cement the victory.
The 2022 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour season continues Feb. 4-5 in North Charleston, South Carolina, and on Feb. 5 in Lexington, Kentucky. The PBR Bad Boy Mowers Collision at The Coliseum at North Charleston Coliseum begins at 8 p.m. EST on Friday, Feb. 4, and at 7 p.m. EST on Saturday, Feb. 5. The PBR Lexington Invitational at Rupp Arena begins on Saturday, Feb. 5 at 7 p.m. EST.
PBR Unleash The Beast - PBR Wrangler Long Live Cowboys ClassicGolden 1 Center -Sacramento, California
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 89.25-87.5-88.25-91.75-356.75-176 Points.
2. Dalton Kasel, 91-87.5-87-90.5-356.00-138 Points.
3. Luciano De Castro, 87.25-88.75-85.25-85.25-346.50-108.5 Points.
4. Eli Vastbinder, 76.25-86.75-88.25-90-341.25-80 Points.
5. Bob Mitchell, 79.5-85.25-76.75-0-241.50-40 Points.
6. Cannon Cravens, 89.25-88.25-0-0-177.50-52.5 Points.
7. Cooper Davis, 87-0-89.75-0-176.75-40 Points.
8. Claudio Montanha Jr., 87.25-0-88.75-0-176.00-35.5 Points.
9. Dener Barbosa, 85.75-0-89.5-0-175.25-29 Points.
(tie). Chase Dougherty, 89-86.25-0-0-175.25-31 Points.
11. Kyler Oliver, 87.5-86.75-0-0-174.25-28.5 Points.
12. Mason Taylor, 0-85.5-87.75-0-173.25-23.5 Points.
13. Cody Teel, 86-0-86.25-0-172.25-17.5 Points.
14. Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 85.75-0-85.75-0-171.50-16 Points.
(tie). Dawson Branton, 86.5-85-0-0-171.50-17 Points.
16. João Henrique Lucas, 85.25-0-85.75-0-171.00-16 Points.
(tie). Marco Eguchi, 86.25-84.75-0-0-171.00-16 Points.
18. João Ricardo Vieira, 86.75-81-0-0-167.75-17 Points.
19. Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 65-0-91-0-156.00-29 Points.
20. Stetson Lawrence, 89.75-0-0-0-89.75-18 Points.
21. Andrew Alvidrez, 88.75-0-0-0-88.75-14 Points.
22. Jess Lockwood, 0-0-87.75-0-87.75-12.5 Points.
23. Brennon Eldred, 0-87.5-0-0-87.50-16 Points.
24. Matt Triplett, 0-0-86.25-0-86.25-9.5 Points.
(tie). Jose Vitor Leme, 86.25-0-0-0-86.25-8 Points.
26. Paulo Ferreira Lima, 0-0-85.5-0-85.50-8 Points.
27. Boudreaux Campbell, 75.25-0-0-0-75.25-7 Points.
Daylon Swearingen, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cole Melancon, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Alex Cardozo, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Sam Woodall, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Brady Oleson, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Silvano Alves, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Jesus, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Jesse Petri, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cladson Rodolfo, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Clayton Sellars, 0-0-0-0-0.00
