(Editor's note: PBR release)
DEADWOOD, S.D. – For the fifth time in the 2021 Professional Bull Riders Unleash The Beast season, 2018 PBR World Champion Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil) stood atop the Can-Am Cage victorious.
Pacheco made the most of this afternoon in Deadwood, S.D., with his chance to pick up points in the 2021 PBR championship race on injured world No. 1 rider Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil).
To punctuate his 3-for-3 weekend at the historic Deadwood Events Complex in the Black Hills of South Dakota, Pacheco delivered a walk-off 90-point ride to win the PBR Monster Energy Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires.
To begin Sunday afternoon of the two-day event, the 27-year-old Brazilian phenom was paired against Air Tight Alibi (Lee Bucking Stock/ FT Bulls) in Round 2. Launching from the chutes, Pacheco was in complete control. The 86.75-point ride score punched his ticket to the championship round.
Pacheco then selected Medicine Man (TNT Bucking Bulls/ Hart Cattle Co) as his opponent in the championship round.
Despite a few setbacks in the chutes and being pushed to the last ride of the day, Pacheco was his usual stone-faced self and ready for his matchup. The South Dakota crowd braced for the possibility of a walk-off win on the last ride of the day.
As the clock raced closer to the 8, the fans’ cheers rose to a roar. As the buzzer sounded and judges reviewed his ride, Pacheco calmly strode about the dirt collecting the celebratory cowboy hats launched into the arena by his friends, including three-time PBR World Champion Silvano Alves (Pilar do Sul, Brazil).
The crowd was on its feet as his 91-point score was announced.
Pacheco’s championship-round score was his fifth 90-point ride of the 2021 UTB season.
The former World Champion collected 139.5 world points and a check for $26,019.33.
While reigning World Champion Leme holds tight to the No. 1 spot in the world standings, Pacheco’s weekend in Deadwood helped the steadfast rider chip away at the distance between himself and Leme, who was injured on his event-clinching ride in Newark, N.J. last weekend. Pacheco is now 726.5 points behind Leme, sitting in the No. 2 spot in the world standings.
While Pacheco was the rider who stood atop the Can-Am Cage on Sunday afternoon, Deadwood was still electric from Saturday evening’s 15/15 Bucking Battle.
In a showdown of the top bulls and top riders in the world, veteran Brazilian rider Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil) faced off against Top Shelf (D&H Cattle Co/ Gordon/ OK Corralis), covering the powerful bull for 90.75 points to win the special round and take his seventh career 15/15 Bucking Battle, the most in league history.
On the leaderboard of the main event, 22-year-old Mauricio Gulla Moreira (Gaviao Peixoto, Brazil) also made his mark in historic Deadwood, going 3-for-3 for a second-place finish on the weekend.
Early on Sunday afternoon, Moreira was paired with King Tut (D&H Cattle Co/Futrell) for Round 2. His 85.25-point score paved his way to the championship round.
Moreira then chose Speed Demon (Heald Pro Bulls/ Clay Struve/ Dakota Rodeo/ Chad Berger) in the championship round, riding him for 89.25 points. He had a chance to win the event until Pacheco knocked down his big ride on Medicine Man. For his efforts, the young Brazilian cowboy earned 95 world points and $15,584.10.
Moreira, who began the weekend as the No. 7-ranked rider in the world standings, holds that position.
New York’s Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York) went 2-for-3 over the weekend to clinch a third-place finish.
After a sweeping win in Saturday night’s Round 1, Swearingen was matched up with Safety Meeting (Hruby/ Kainz/ Clay Struve/ Dakota Rodeo/ Chad Berger) in Round 2, making the 8 to collect an 88.75-point ride score.
The 22-year-old then chose Switchback (Triplett Bucking Bulls) for the championship round.
The selection did not go as the young New York cowboy had planned as his bovine competitor dispatched him into the dirt in a mere 4.03 seconds.
Collecting 92 world points and $14,779.39, Swearingen moved from No. 37 in the world standings to No. 29.
2016 PBR World Champion Cooper Davis (Jasper, Texas) finished fourth in Deadwood courtesy of his 2-for-3 weekend in the iconic outdoor arena.
Paired with Blacklist (Lee Bucking Stock/ Praus) in Round 2, Davis launched from the chutes but could not make the buzzer, hitting the ground at 5.62 seconds. Despite the upset, his third-place finish in Saturday’s Round 1 secured his spot in the championship round.
The talented young Texan then selected Cold Chill (Julio Moreno/ Bar CB) for the championship round in hopes of catapulting himself to his third event win of the 2021 season.
Despite a score of 88.75 points, he fell just short of that goal but earned 55 world points and $10,274.92 for his weekend.
Davis holds tight to the No. 3 spot in the world standings in his quest for a second world title.
Brazil’s Adriano Salgado (Batatais, Brazil) rounded out the Top 5 of the weekend after a 2-for-3 performance.
Salgado was paired with Bullet Train (Hart Cattle Co/People’s Cattle) in Round 2 but came down hard after a mere 3.65 seconds.
In the championship round, his selection of CopperPoint Swagger (Hart Cattle Co/ Hale) had the crowd cheering at full volume as his 87.25-point score was announced.
Despite Salgado’s trouble as Sunday began, he earned 51 world points and $7,743.31, moving from No. 48 in the world standings up to No. 41.
In the bull pen, Chiseled (Flinn/ D&H Cattle Co) was the high-marked bull of the event for his out during Saturday evening’s bonus 15/15 round. He dispatched Cody Jesus (Window Rock, Arizona) after just 3.21 seconds, posting a 46.25-point score.
PBR RidePass on PlutoTV will offer re-airs and on-demand replays of every PBR Unleash The Beast event. PBR RidePass is available on desktops, laptops and mobile devices via www.pluto.tv. Tune to channel 720 for the latest programming schedule.
The PBR Unleash The Beast next travels to San Antonio, Texas, and The AT&T Center for the PBR U.S. Border Patrol Invitational, presented by Ariat, on Saturday, Oct. 2 at 7:45 p.m. CDT and Sunday, Oct. 3 at 12:45 p.m. CDT.
Elsewhere in the PBR, competing in front of a home-state crowd, Carlos Garcia (Abingdon, Virginia) delivered a flawless performance at the debut PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event in Fairfax, Virginia, to win his first event in four years at the PBR Fairfax Invitational.
Garcia got off to a quick start in Round 1, delivering the sixth-best score when he covered Beefcake (Dustin Denning) for 85.5 points.
Remaining red hot as Championship Sunday got underway with Round 2, Garcia surged to second place on the event leaderboard when he went the distance aboard Big Shot (Mike Miller Bucking Bulls) for 88 points.
The ride is significant not only because the score is tied for the second-best of Garcia’s career but also because the 8-second effort snapped Big Shot’s 18-out buckoff streak across all levels of competition. Garcia is now just the second rider in 23 career outs to cover the Pennsylvania-based bovine athlete.
Garcia’s momentum continued in the championship round.
Facing Wade Rock (Bonafide Bucking Bulls/Diamon M Pro Rodeo), a persistent Garcia battled to the whistle, making the 8 as the crowd inside EagleBank Arena erupted in raucous cheer. The 82.5-point score was the best of the championship round, clinching the victory for Garcia at the PBR Fairfax Invitational.
A double-entry, Garcia also tied for 10th compliments of an 85-point ride on Beefcake in Round 2.
Garcia earned a total of 43 world points in Virginia, surging 64 positions in the race for the 2021 PBR World Championship. He is now ranked No. 67 after traveling to the tour stop ranked No. 131.
Seeking his career-first PBR World Finals qualification, Garcia is now within 177.5 points of the Top 30 and a berth at the sport’s most prestigious event.
PBR Unleash The Beast - Monster Energy Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires
Deadwood Events Complex -Deadwood, South Dakota
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Kaique Pacheco, 86-86.75-91-263.75-139.5 Points.
2. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 84.75-85.25-89.25-259.25-95 Points.
3. Daylon Swearingen, 89.5-88.75-0-178.25-92 Points.
4. Cooper Davis, 88-0-88.75-176.75-55 Points.
5. Adriano Salgado, 88.75-0-87.25-176.00-51 Points.
6. Cody Casper, 86-85.25-0-171.25-41 Points.
7. João Ricardo Vieira, 86.25-84.75-0-171.00-34.5 Points.
8. Cody Teel, 0-87.5-0-87.50-23 Points.
9. Silvano Alves, 86.25-0-0-86.25-19.5 Points.
10. Manoelito de Souza Junior, 0-85-0-85.00-16 Points.
11. Derek Kolbaba, 84.75-0-0-84.75-12.5 Points.
12. Andrew Alvidrez, 83.5-0-0-83.50-10 Points.
13. Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-81-0-81.00-12 Points.
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0.00
Chase Dougherty, 0-0-0-0.00
Junior Patrik Souza, 0-0-0-0.00
Marco Eguchi, 0-0-0-0.00
Dalton Kasel, 0-0-0-0.00
Jesse Petri, 0-0-0-0.00
Eli Vastbinder, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Jesus, 0-0-0-0.00
João Henrique Lucas, 0-0-0-0.00
Eduardo Aparecido, 0-0-0-0.00
Austin Richardson, 0-0-0-0.00
Mason Taylor, 0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0.00
Thiago Salgado, 0-0-0-0.00
Conner Halverson, 0-0-0-0.00
Lucas Divino, 0-0-0-0.00
Fernando Henrique Novais, 0-0-0-0.00
Leonardo Lima, 0-0-0-0.00
Matt Triplett, 0-0-0-0.00
