(Editor's note: PBR media release)
ARCADIA, Florida – The south Florida heat wasn’t enough to melt “Ice Man” Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil) as the 2018 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) World Champion turned in a perfect 3-for-3 performance on his way to winning the PBR Pendleton Whisky Invitational in Arcadia, Florida on Sunday.
At the beginning of the 2021 season, PBR announced a change to the Unleash The Beast event format – creating daily winners by adding new championship rounds. That change, while adding the excitement of more competition winners, could potentially put each successful rider on more bulls over the course of a PBR season. After consultation with its riders, PBR reverted to last year’s event format, effective this weekend and through the remainder of the 2021 season.
After an 88-point ride in Round 1 on Saturday on Skeeter Peter (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve), Pacheco sat in fourth place heading into championship Sunday.
The Brazilian drew Rocket Man (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Heald Pro Bulls) in Round 2, and the combo danced their way to an 84.25-point mark and another fourth-place finish in the round.
With the highest aggregate score after two rounds, Pacheco earned the first pick in the championship round draft, and took his chances on Marquis Metal Works Bill The Butcher (Paradigm Bull Co/Marquis Metal Works). The pair erupted from the chutes, with Pacheco countering each leap to perfection on the way to an 89.75-point ride. The event win is the 15th of Pacheco’s career at the elite Unleash The Beast (UTB) level, and his first of the 2021 season.
The only rider to go a perfect 3-for-3 on the weekend, Pacheco won $30,200.72 and 116 world points, and is now the No. 3 rider in the world standings.
For highlights from Pacheco’s win and the rest of the 2021 Pendleton Whisky Invitational, click here [imgworld-my.sharepoint.com].
Cody Teel (College Station, Texas) picked up his first Top-3 finish of the season at the Pendleton Whisky Invitational with a 2-for-3 performance.
Teel conquered Buckle Bunny (Southern Legend Cattle Co.) for 86.25 points on Saturday in Round 1, then mounted Why Hell Ya (Hart Cattle Co/Randy Wood) in Round 2, coming out on top for 82.75 points.
Drafting second for the championship round, Teel chose Short Night (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Ken Barnhart), who sent him to the dirt in 3.89 seconds.
The Texas cowboy earned $12,476.79 and 61.5 world points on the weekend to rocket the 2012 PRCA World Champion to No. 6 in the world standings.
Brazil’s Marco Eguchi (Poa, Brazil) finished the weekend third. Besting Burn Out (Vickers Buckers/Northcott Macza Pro Rodeo) in Round 1 for 85 points, Eguchi rode Sambuca (Hart Cattle Co/Hale) to the tune of 82.75 points in Round 2.
Matching up with CopperPoint Swagger in the championship round, Eguchi was dispatched at the 6.2-second mark, locking in his third-place finish and earning him 45.5 world points. The 2018 PBR World Finals event winner now sits in the No. 10 spot in the world rankings, just four points ahead of Dalton Kasel (Muleshoe, Texas).
Junior Patrik Souza (Sonora, Brazil) took home fourth place in the two-day event. Turning down a re-ride option in Round 1 after a 73-point trip aboard Not Today (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Nanvy Haverty), Souza finished fifth in Round 2 with an 83-point ride on Bad Decisions (TNT Bucking Bulls/Hart Cattle Co).
I’m Legit Too (Hart Cattle Co/Hale/Bloyd) proved too much for the 27-year-old in the championship round, bucking him off in 6.27 seconds.
Souza added 28 world points to his 2021 total when the dust settled, moving him to the No. 1 spot in the world rankings for the first time in his career. Souza currently sits 20 points ahead of No. 2 Mauricio Gulla Moreira (Gaviao Peixoto, Brazil).
Round 1 winner Brennon Eldred (Sulphur, Oklahoma) rounded out the Top 5 in Arcadia. After earning his first round win of the season with an 89.75-point effort on @PBR on TikTok (Paradigm Bull Company) on Saturday, Eldred was 0-for-2 on championship Sunday.
Fig Jama (TNT Bucking Bulls/Hart Cattle Co) tossed Eldred in 5.74 seconds in Round 2, and Two Socks (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve) introduced Eldred to the arena dirt in 6.22 seconds in the championship round.
Red Clark (Paradigm Bull Co/Wentz) and Zero Time (Paradigm Bull Company) split the YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the Event honors for their 45.5-point performances in the championship round.
Saturday’s competition also featured a special exhibition round, and a ride fans will be buzzing about for some time. In his first out of the season, defending two-time World Champion bull Smooth Operator (Dakota Rodeo/Julie Rosen/Clay Struve/Chad Berger) was conquered by Ezekiel Mitchell (Rockdale, Texas) for a 93-point ride, including a 45.5-point bull score.
Fans can relive each out from the 2021 Pendleton Whisky Invitational on Monday, January 25 at 8 a.m. ET via the RidePass mobile app or on RidePass.com.
The PBR Unleash The Beast: American Roots Edition returns to action next weekend in Okeechobee, Florida, with Round 1 starting at 2 p.m. ET on Saturday, January 30.
Professional Bull Riders - PBR PENDLETON WHISKY INVITATIONAL
Arcadia, FL, 2021 - Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Kaique Pacheco, 88-84.25-89.75-262.00-116 Points.
2. Cody Teel, 86.25-82.75-0-169.00-61.5 Points.
3. Marco Eguchi, 85-82.75-0-167.75-45.5 Points.
4. Junior Patrik Souza, 73-83-0-156.00-28 Points.
5. Brennon Eldred, 89.75-0-0-89.75-37 Points.
6. Dalton Kasel, 89.5-0-0-89.50-22 Points.
7. Cooper Davis, 0-89-0-89.00-20.5 Points.
(tie). Dener Barbosa, 0-89-0-89.00-20.5 Points.
9. Kyle Jones, 88.25-0-0-88.25-13 Points.
10. Derek Kolbaba, 87.75-0-0-87.75-9 Points.
11. Dakota Louis, 85.75-0-0-85.75-6 Points.
12. Alex Cerqueira, 0-84.75-0-84.75-9 Points.
13. Claudio Montanha Jr., 83.75-0-0-83.75-3 Points.
14. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 82.75-0-0-82.75-1.5 Points.
(tie). Lucas Divino, 82.75-0-0-82.75-1.5 Points.
Cole Melancon, 0-0-0-0.00
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0.00
Silvano Alves, 0-0-0-0.00
J.T. Moore, 0-0-0-0.00
João Ricardo Vieira, 0-0-0-0.00
Kyler Oliver, 0-0-0-0.00
Eduardo Aparecido, 0-0-0-0.00
Mason Taylor, 0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0.00
Rodrigo Melgar, 0-0-0-0.00
Taylor Toves, 0-0-0-0.00
J.B. Mauney, 0-0-0-0.00
Tye Chandler, 0-0-0-0.00
Joao Henrique Lucas, 0-0-0-0.00
Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 0-0-0-0.00
2021 Professional Bull Riders World Standings
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5's, Points, Total Winnings)
1. Junior Patrik Souza, 6, 1, 3, 151.50, $20,249.81
2. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 6, 1, 3, 131.50, $27,150.00
3. Kaique Pacheco, 2, 1, 1, 123.00, $30,850.72
4. Cooper Davis, 2, 0, 1, 118.00, $12,885.97
5. Cole Melancon, 2, 0, 1, 110.00, $10,900.00
6. Cody Teel, 3, 0, 2, 75.50, $16,076.79
7. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 3, 0, 2, 70.00, $9,983.33
7. Silvano Alves, 2, 0, 1, 70.00, $5,233.33
9. Brady Fielder, 3, 1, 2, 69.00, $6,529.40
10. Marco Eguchi, 2, 0, 1, 55.50, $9,797.23
11. Dalton Kasel, 4, 0, 1, 51.50, $10,722.85
12. J.T. Moore, 4, 1, 3, 49.00, $8,789.02
13. Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 5, 1, 2, 47.00, $7,657.05
14. Brennon Eldred, 3, 0, 1, 45.00, $8,589.02
15. Kurt Shephard, 3, 0, 2, 44.33, $4,028.40
16. Kyle Jones, 4, 0, 1, 42.50, $7,492.39
17. Aaron Kleier, 3, 1, 2, 42.00, $14,105.40
18. Dener Barbosa, 5, 0, 1, 40.83, $9,033.23
19. João Ricardo Vieira, 3, 0, 2, 35.00, $4,400.00
19. Kyler Oliver, 2, 0, 1, 35.00, $3,650.00
21. Eduardo Aparecido, 3, 0, 1, 31.00, $3,583.33
22. Alex Cerqueira, 3, 0, 1, 29.00, $6,123.22
23. Colten Fritzlan, 1, 0, 1, 28.50, $4,832.63
24. Bailey Woodard, 3, 1, 1, 26.00, $2,285.40
25. Lachlan Richardson, 3, 0, 1, 20.00, $1,775.00
26. Cody Casper, 4, 0, 1, 18.00, $2,860.13
27. Dakota Louis, 4, 0, 1, 16.50, $3,617.07
28. Lawson Nobbs, 3, 0, 1, 16.00, $1,175.00
29. Mason Taylor, 3, 1, 1, 15.00, $5,212.30
29. Ezekiel Mitchell, 4, 1, 1, 15.00, $3,900.00
29. Rodrigo Melgar, 4, 1, 1, 15.00, $3,480.75
29. Aaron Pass, 1, 1, 1, 15.00, $3,432.49
33. Leonardo Lima, 5, 0, 0, 13.83, $1,821.28
34. Taylor Toves, 3, 0, 0, 13.00, $1,850.00
35. Paulo Ferreira Lima, 3, 0, 1, 12.33, $2,136.88
36. Thor Hoefer II, 5, 0, 1, 10.50, $2,090.85
37. Seth White, 2, 0, 1, 9.50, $1,696.35
38. Valdiron de Oliveira, 2, 0, 1, 9.33, $2,477.41
38. Jackson Gray, 3, 0, 2, 9.33, $1,067.80
40. Derek Kolbaba, 4, 0, 0, 9.00, $4,449.95
40. Claudio Montanha Jr., 5, 0, 0, 9.00, $2,650.00
42. Brendan Buckholz, 3, 0, 1, 8.33, $828.40
43. Wyatt Rogers, 3, 0, 1, 7.50, $2,016.22
43. Justin Houston, 3, 0, 1, 7.50, $2,016.22
45. Sam Woodall, 2, 0, 1, 7.00, $1,105.80
