(Editor's note: PBR release)
LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Once again after the final out, the dust settled on PBR’s (Professional Bull Riders) 2021 elite Unleash The Beast (UTB) tour with a familiar sight – Brazilian Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil) atop the leaderboard.
White-hot Pacheco took Saturday’s round win and a nine-ride streak into championship Sunday at the 2021 Lucas Oil Invitational in Louisville’s KFC Yum! Center, and again bested the top riders in the world.
Riding to his league-leading third UTB win on the young season, the 2018 World Champion’s 2-for-3 performance on the weekend, plus a third-place 15/15 Bucking Battle ride, included two round wins.
After besting Nailed (Kruger Bucking Bulls) in Round 1 for 88.25 points, Pacheco was tasked with Mr. Winston (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve) in Round 2 to start off championship Sunday. The duo danced across the arena floor on the way to Pacheco’s ninth consecutive ride, and an 89.75-point score, which was enough for the Round 2 win.
With the first pick in the championship round draft, Pacheco chose Mike’s Motive (Blake Sharp/High Voltage Cattle) as his mount, but was sent to the dirt in 7.5 seconds, ending his perfect streak but still earning the event win.
Along with $26,208.83, Pacheco picked up 136 world points with the win, catapulting him over Cooper Davis (Jasper, Texas) into the world No. 1 ranking. He now leads the 2016 World Champion by 55 points. Entering the weekend, Pacheco had trailed Davis by 81 points.
The surging Brazilian also rode to a third-place finish in the 15/15 Bucking Battle this weekend courtesy of an 89.5-point ride on Homegrown (Cord McCoy/Chad Reese), adding an additional 43 world points to his dominant two days in Louisville.
For highlights from Pacheco’s world-class performance at the 2021 Lucas Oil Invitational, click here[imgworld-my.sharepoint.com].
The newest member of the 300, club Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil), rode to a second-place finish in the two-day event.
After Vieira bested Poncho Villa (K-C Bucking Bulls/Bull Creek Bucking Bulls) on Saturday for his 300th career premier series ride in Round 1, he couldn’t handle Red Bones (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Kathy Boone/Joe Beaver) in Round 2.
Slingin Tears (Blake Sharp/Henry Wilson/Caveman Bucking Bulls) was run under Vieira in the championship round, where the veteran went to work for 89.5 points and the round win.
Taking home $17,813.75 and 95 world points, Vieira, who began the weekend world No. 9, skyrocketed into the Top 5, where he now sits fourth in the world.
Reigning world champion Jose Vitor Leme’s (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil) remarkable streak of 90-point rides came to an end in the Bluegrass State, but Leme did pick up a third-place result.
After riding five straight bulls for 90 points or more to start the 2021 season coming into Louisville, Twisted (Kruger Bucking Bulls) supplied the bull power for Leme to go 84.25 in Round 1, and Marquis Metal Works Draggin Up (Paradigm Bull Co/Marquis Metal Works) supplied an 88.75-point ride in Round 2.
After a tough dismount in Round 2, which sprained Leme’s right ankle, the tough Brazilian drafted Safety Meeting (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Hruby/Kainz) in the 12-man championship round, where he failed to make the 8.
Leme’s performance netted 57.5 world points and $10,034.31. The reigning World Champion also finished second in the 15/15 Bucking Battle on the Saturday night, conquering Apper’s Mind Freak (JoZ Bucking Bulls/K-C Bucking Bulls/Spark-Lin-Acres) for 90.5 points and adding 49 world points to his weekend total. The combined points held him in the No. 3 world ranking.
Coming off his first premier series event win last weekend in Kansas City, Texan Boudreaux Campbell (Crockett, Texas) was fourth on the weekend.
Buckeye Bill (K-C Bucking Bulls/JoZ Bucking Bulls) gave Campbell an 85.5-point trip in Round 1. But Round 2 was not as friendly to the reigning Rookie of the Year as Soup in a Group (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Wilks Ranch) tossed him in 1.84 seconds.
Campbell drafted deep in the championship round, matching up with The Undertaker (Cornwell Bucking Bulls/Riley Bucking Bulls). The duo combined for 87.5 points and second in the round.
Campbell picked up a crucial 60 world points, along with $11,549.50, allowing him to crack into the No. 10 spot in the world standings.
Three-time PBR World Champion Silvano Alves (Pilar do Sul, Brazil) continued his march back to the top in 2021 with a fifth-place finish in Kentucky.
Black Beetle (K-C Bucking Bulls/JoZ Bucking Bulls) was no match for the legend in Round 1 when the two combined for 85.5 points, but Crazy Doc (Paradigm Bull Company) sent the Brazilian packing in 5.37 seconds during Round 2.
Short Night (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Ken Barnhart) was left for Alves in the championship round, where the 33-year-old went to work, spurring to an 86.25-point mark.
Alves earned 47.5 world points on for the fifth-place finish in the event along with 28 additional world points courtesy of an 87-point score on Speed Demon (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Heald Pro Bulls) during the 15/15 Bucking Battle, placing him fifth in the special round.
Alves now holds sole position of the No. 8 spot in the world standings.
Rafael Henrique dos Santos (Sebastianopolis, Brazil) earned his career-first 15/15 Bucking Battle win on the dirt in KFC Yum! Center, taking care of business on Blue Crush (Cord McCoy/Chad Reese) for 91.75 points during the special round on Saturday night.
Marquis Metal Works Red Clark (Paradigm Bull Co/Wentz) took home the YETI Bull of the Event Honors, as the red bovine bucked to an 46.25-point bull score when he threw Andrew Alvidrez (Seminole, Texas) during Sunday’s Championship Round in 2.07 seconds.
Fans can relive each moment from the 2021 Lucas Oil Invitational on Monday, March 29 starting at 8 a.m. ET on RidePass.com or via the RidePass mobile app.
The Top 30 bull riders in the world return to action in two weeks in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, with Round 1 on Friday, April 9.
Professional Bull Riders
PBR LUCAS OIL INVITATIONAL
LOUISVILLE, KY, 2021 - Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Kaique Pacheco, 88.25-89.75-0-178.00-136 Points.
2. João Ricardo Vieira, 87.25-0-89.5-176.75-95 Points.
3. Jose Vitor Leme, 84.25-88.75-0-173.00-57.5 Points.
(tie). Boudreaux Campbell, 85.5-0-87.5-173.00-60 Points.
5. Silvano Alves, 85.5-0-86.25-171.75-47.5 Points.
6. Derek Kolbaba, 88-0-0-88.00-30 Points.
7. J.T. Moore, 0-87.75-0-87.75-23 Points.
8. Cooper Davis, 87-0-0-87.00-21 Points.
9. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-86.75-0-86.75-20 Points.
10. Kyler Oliver, 86-0-0-86.00-17 Points.
11. Cole Melancon, 85.25-0-0-85.25-13 Points.
12. Eduardo Aparecido, 84-0-0-84.00-9 Points.
(tie). João Henrique Lucas, 84-0-0-84.00-9 Points.
(tie). Andrew Alvidrez, 84-0-0-84.00-9 Points.
15. Matt Triplett, 83-0-0-83.00-8 Points.
16. Dener Barbosa, 0-81.5-0-81.50-7 Points.
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0.00
Junior Patrik Souza, 0-0-0-0.00
Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 0-0-0-0.00
Colten Fritzlan, 0-0-0-0.00
Taylor Toves, 0-0-0-0.00
Marco Eguchi, 0-0-0-0.00
Jess Lockwood, 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Cerqueira, 0-0-0-0.00
Mason Taylor, 0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Nance, 0-0-0-0.00
Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-0-0-0.00
Kyle Jones, 0-0-0-0.00
Eli Vastbinder, 0-0-0-0.00
Chase Outlaw, 0-0-0-0.00
Ramon de Lima, 0-0-0-0.00
2021 Professional Bull Riders World Standings
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5's, Points, Total Winnings)
1. Kaique Pacheco, 11, 3, 6, 572.50, $96,484.89
2. Cooper Davis, 11, 1, 6, 517.50, $66,297.56
3. Jose Vitor Leme, 5, 1, 4, 312.50, $53,630.94
4. João Ricardo Vieira, 14, 0, 4, 269.50, $39,101.71
5. Cole Melancon, 10, 0, 3, 260.00, $35,677.78
6. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 12, 1, 4, 238.50, $40,391.61
7. Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 11, 1, 3, 233.00, $33,987.83
8. Silvano Alves, 11, 0, 4, 228.00, $25,328.96
9. Junior Patrik Souza, 15, 0, 4, 222.50, $23,549.76
10. Boudreaux Campbell, 6, 1, 2, 214.00, $41,186.24
11. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 17, 1, 3, 196.00, $33,435.83
12. Dener Barbosa, 14, 0, 3, 192.83, $25,155.95
13. Derek Kolbaba, 12, 0, 1, 190.00, $32,334.21
14. Colten Fritzlan, 9, 1, 2, 168.00, $30,564.31
15. Taylor Toves, 10, 0, 2, 163.50, $28,260.80
16. Kyler Oliver, 7, 0, 1, 163.00, $23,452.09
17. Eduardo Aparecido, 8, 0, 1, 144.50, $19,807.39
18. Marco Eguchi, 8, 1, 2, 134.50, $16,797.23
19. Jess Lockwood, 5, 0, 1, 119.50, $21,219.20
19. Alex Cerqueira, 9, 0, 1, 119.50, $17,721.85
21. Mason Taylor, 10, 2, 3, 114.50, $24,516.45
22. Dalton Kasel, 9, 0, 1, 90.00, $13,651.39
23. João Henrique Lucas, 10, 0, 1, 84.00, $12,722.30
24. Cody Teel, 9, 0, 2, 83.50, $16,076.79
25. J.T. Moore, 11, 1, 3, 82.00, $12,621.85
26. Lucas Divino, 9, 0, 2, 81.00, $23,474.00
27. Ezekiel Mitchell, 10, 1, 1, 78.50, $9,146.15
28. Jesse Petri, 9, 1, 1, 76.83, $9,610.66
29. Brennon Eldred, 8, 0, 1, 70.50, $11,058.93
30. Brady Fielder, 3, 1, 2, 69.00, $6,529.40
31. Cody Nance, 8, 0, 3, 54.66, $10,721.35
32. Claudio Montanha Jr., 11, 0, 0, 52.50, $7,624.83
33. Kyle Jones, 7, 0, 1, 50.50, $7,492.39
34. Eli Vastbinder, 6, 1, 1, 47.50, $5,594.61
35. Rodrigo Melgar, 9, 1, 2, 47.33, $7,988.09
36. Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 12, 1, 2, 47.00, $7,657.05
37. Kurt Shephard, 3, 0, 2, 44.33, $4,028.40
38. Aaron Kleier, 3, 1, 2, 42.00, $14,105.40
39. Luciano De Castro, 8, 0, 2, 41.33, $15,080.55
40. Shane Proctor, 2, 1, 1, 37.66, $5,687.38
41. Thiago Salgado, 8, 0, 1, 32.00, $5,152.71
42. Marcus Mast, 9, 0, 1, 27.00, $4,201.43
43. Chase Dougherty, 10, 2, 3, 26.00, $8,852.91
43. Bailey Woodard, 3, 1, 1, 26.00, $2,285.40
45. Dakota Louis, 11, 0, 1, 24.50, $3,617.07
