(PBR release)
NEW YORK CITY – In front of a record-setting New York City crowd inside Madison Square Garden, Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itiatinga, Brazil) delivered a dominant 4-for-4 performance at the 2020 season-launch Major, winning the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Unleash The Beast Monster Energy Buck Off at The Garden, presented by Ariat.
Vieira began his march to the top of the Can-Am Cage in Round 1 when he recorded the second-best score, covering Western Skies (Cord McCoy/Twisted T/Ladd/Murphy) for 89.25 points.
The veteran Brazilian then reached the 8-second whistle both Round 2 and Round 3 on Going Broke (Mike Miller Bucking Bulls) for 84.75 points and Birthday Cake (M Rafter E Bucking Bulls/Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve) for 85.75 points.
In the championship round, Vieira punctuated his perfect performance inside “The World’s Most Famous Arena” with an 87.25-point ride aboard Bezerk (BMC Bucking Bulls/Jenkins Cattle Co.)
“It’s a lot of points here and a lot of money,” Vieira said. “Winning feels amazing. And it’s cool to be the man to put my name on the new (Charging Bull) trophy.”
The 35-year-old earned a check for $109,000 and 192 world points, surging to No. 1 in the 2020 PBR world standings. He now leads No. 2 Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil) by 26.5 points.
Pacheco, the only other rider to cover all his bovine athlete opponents in the Big Apple, was second, netting $21,350 and 127.5 world points.
The 2018 PBR World Champion, who was sidelined for the majority of 2019 first due to a knee injury then an elbow ailment, first rode Viper (Cord McCoy/Big Sky Bulls LLC) for 88.25 points in Round 1. He continued the momentum in Round 2 when he reached the 8 on Pearl (Mike Miller Bucking Bulls) for 82.25 points.
After riding Thunder’s Cartel (M Rafter E Bucking Bulls) for 86.25 points in Round 3, the “Ice Man” brought the raucous crowd to its feet when he delivered an 87.5-point ride on Big Bad (Jane Clark/Gene Owen).
Third was two-time PBR World Champion, and two-time Monster Energy Buck Off at the Garden event winner, Jess Lockwood (Volborg, Montana).
Rocketing into the Top 5 of the event’s leaderboard courtesy of an 88.25-point ride on Birthday Cake (M Rafter E Bucking Bulls/Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve) in Round 1, Lockwood slid following his Round 2 buckoff, bested by Apocalypse (Deer Prairie Creek Bucking Bulls) in 2.52 seconds.
Undeterred, the focused Montana man roared back in Round 3 in posting an 86.75-point score for his 8 seconds of work on JC’s Gangster (JC’s Dream Team/Jenkins Cattle).
The Garden was then brought to a deafening roar when Lockwood won the championship round with the high-marked ride of the new 2020 Unleash The Beast season, 91.75 points on Lil 2 Train (Jane Clark/Gene Owen).
Lockwood earned $23,850 and 121.5 world points. He is now No. 3 in the world, 70.5 points behind No. 1 Vieira.
Mason Taylor (Maypearl, Texas) was fourth, collecting a check for $13,100 and 60.5 world points to climb to No. 4 in the world.
Posting a 1-for-2 record during the first two nights of competition, Taylor returned to The Garden for Championship Sunday hungry for the first Major victory of his career.
After delivering an 85.25-point ride on With A Bang (C Check Bucking Bulls), Taylor recorded the third 90-point ride of his premier series career when he was marked 90 points on Marquis Metal Works Bill The Butcher (Paradigm Bull Co./Marquis Metal Works).
Earlier in the event, Taylor also won the first 15/15 Bucking Battle of 2020 courtesy of a matching 90-point score on Bill The Butcher.
Rounding out the Top 5 was Brazilian phenom Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil).
Following a Round 1 buckoff, bested by Hurricane Tested (Kruger Bucking Bulls) in a close 6.53 seconds, Leme rebounded in World Championship contending form, covering his next three bulls.
An 86-point ride on Blonde Blizzard (Mike Miller Bucking Bulls) in Round 2, coupled with an 85.75-point ride on Crazy Doc (Paradigm Bull Company) in Round 3 punched his ticket to the championship round.
Leme then selected a familiar foe in Marquis Metal Works Gangster’s Wildside (Paradigm Bull Company) who he had previously covered in 2019 to finish fourth in the Springfield, Missouri 1515 Bucking Battle.
Again making the 8, Leme notched an 86.75-point ride on the bovine athlete.
He left Madison Square Garden with $7,350 and 59.5 world points. He is now No. 14 in the world, 132.5 points behind No. 1 Vieira.
In the bull pen, Big Bad (Jane Clark/Gene Owen) was the YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the Event. He recorded the event’s top marks, a 45.5-point bull score, in Friday night’s 15/15 Bucking Battle when he dispatched Cody Teel (Kountze, Texas) in a swift 2.78 seconds.
CBS Sports Network will broadcast all the action from Championship Sunday, with coverage of Round 3 and the championship round, on Sunday, January 5 at 8:00 p.m. ET.
Fans can relive all the action from Monster Energy Buck Off at the Garden, presented by Ariat, on Monday, January 6 at 8:00 a.m. ET at RidePass.com or via the mobile app.
The PBR Unleash The Beast next travels to Chicago, Illinois, and Allstate Arena for the Chicago Invitational. The event will be on Saturday, January 11 at 6:45 p.m. CT and Sunday, January 12 at 1:45pm CT.
PBR Unleash The Beast
Monster Energy Buck Off at The Garden, presented by Ariat
Madison Square Garden – New York City, New York
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. João Ricardo Vieira, 89.25-84.75-85.75-87.25-347.00-192 Points.
2. Kaique Pacheco, 88.25-82.25-86.25-87.5-344.25-127.5 Points.
3. Jess Lockwood, 88.25-0-86.75-91.75-266.75-121.5 Points.
4. Mason Taylor, 85-0-85.25-90-260.25-60.5 Points.
5. Jose Vitor Leme, 0-86-85.75-86.75-258.50-59.5 Points.
6. Colten Jesse, 87.75-82.25-88.25-0-258.25-57.5 Points.
7. Eduardo Aparecido, 89.5-81.25-82.5-0-253.25-47 Points.
8. Dakota Buttar, 0-88-84.5-0-172.50-35 Points.
9. Cooper Davis, 0-86-87.75-0-173.75-34 Points.
10. Matt Triplett, 79.75-0-88.75-0-168.50-32 Points.
11. Fabiano Vieira, 85.5-76.25-86.75-0-248.50-21.5 Points.
12. Cannon Cravens, 0-86.25-0-0-86.25-20 Points.
13. Ryan Dirteater, 87.25-0-86.25-0-173.50-18 Points.
14. Daylon Swearingen, 0-82.5-86.5-0-169.00-15.66 Points.
15. Dylan Smith, 86.5-84-0-0-170.50-15 Points.
16. Aaron Kleier, 0-85.25-0-0-85.25-11 Points.
(tie). Derek Kolbaba, 88-0-0-0-88.00-11 Points.
18. Silvano Alves, 80.5-84.75-0-0-165.25-8.5 Points.
19. Brock Radford, 0-0-86.5-0-86.50-7.66 Points.
(tie). Ramon de Lima, 0-0-86.5-0-86.50-7.66 Points.
21. Taylor Toves, 86.75-0-0-0-86.75-6 Points.
22. Brady Fielder, 85.75-0-0-0-85.75-3 Points.
23. Cody Teel, 85-82-0-0-167.00-2 Points.
24. Jared Parsonage, 0-82-0-0-82.00-0.5 Points.
25. Lucas Divino, 83.25-0-83.5-0-166.75
26. Marco Eguchi, 78.5-0-85.5-0-164.00
27. Alisson De Souza, 82.25-77.5-0-0-159.75
28. Alan de Souza, 82.25-58-0-0-140.25
29. Koal Livingston, 82.75-0-0-0-82.75
Rubens Barbosa, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Gage Gay, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Luciano De Castro, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Stetson Lawrence, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Michael Lane, 0-0-0-0-0.00
2020 PBR World Standings
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5's, Points, Total Winnings)
1. João Ricardo Vieira, 2, 1, 1, 192.00, $109,000.00
2. Kaique Pacheco, 4, 0, 2, 165.50, $31,500.80
3. Jess Lockwood, 2, 0, 1, 121.50, $23,850.00
4. Mason Taylor, 2, 1, 2, 110.50, $20,600.00
5. Daylon Swearingen, 3, 1, 1, 75.66, $54,233.97
6. Cooper Davis, 2, 0, 1, 74.00, $14,350.00
7. Derek Kolbaba, 3, 0, 2, 73.00, $9,232.08
7. Lachlan Richardson, 4, 1, 2, 73.00, $24,550.36
9. Aaron Kleier, 6, 1, 4, 71.00, $11,266.01
10. Eduardo Aparecido, 4, 0, 1, 67.00, $14,861.87
11. Dakota Buttar, 3, 1, 2, 61.00, $13,836.32
12. Colten Jesse, 2, 0, 1, 60.50, $10,030.24
13. Alan de Souza, 3, 1, 1, 60.00, $29,921.15
14. Jose Vitor Leme, 3, 0, 1, 59.50, $7,350.00
15. Ryan Dirteater, 2, 0, 1, 48.00, $5,250.00
15. Aaron Roy, 4, 1, 2, 48.00, $8,724.53
17. Matt Triplett, 3, 1, 1, 47.00, $13,312.00
17. Troy Wilkinson, 3, 0, 2, 47.00, $12,616.93
19. Nathan Burtenshaw, 4, 1, 2, 44.50, $7,992.91
20. Dener Barbosa, 2, 1, 2, 43.00, $8,892.80
21. Brock Radford, 8, 0, 4, 41.66, $9,010.07
22. Bradley Brittain, 2, 1, 1, 41.00, $7,000.00
23. Amadeu Campos Silva, 1, 0, 1, 38.00, $3,738.08
24. Brady Sims, 5, 1, 2, 36.50, $5,993.09
25. Rafael H. dos Santos, 1, 0, 1, 27.00, $3,289.25
25. Tye Chandler, 1, 0, 1, 27.00, $4,700.00
25. Romildo Rodrigues, 1, 0, 1, 27.00, $4,800.00
28. Fabiano Vieira, 1, 0, 0, 21.50, $3,050.00
29. Cannon Cravens, 1, 0, 0, 20.00, $6,000.00
29. Fraser Babbington, 2, 0, 1, 20.00, $7,765.02
29. Roberto Carlos Vieira Junior, 1, 0, 1, 20.00, $1,788.89
32. Cliff Richardson, 2, 0, 1, 18.00, $5,941.93
33. Lane Mellers, 4, 0, 2, 16.00, $3,781.88
33. Mauricio Gula Moreira, 1, 0, 1, 16.00, $1,904.30
35. Dylan Smith, 1, 0, 0, 15.00, $1,467.00
35. Logan Biever, 7, 1, 1, 15.00, $4,258.02
35. Garrion Hull, 2, 1, 1, 15.00, $4,712.89
35. Brady Portenier, 1, 0, 1, 15.00, $3,000.00
39. Marcus Mast, 2, 0, 1, 14.00, $3,100.00
39. Francisco Garcia Torres, 2, 1, 2, 14.00, $1,267.43
41. Eli Vastbinder, 2, 0, 1, 13.00, $2,600.00
42. Dakota Louis, 7, 0, 2, 12.00, $3,155.33
43. Marcos Gloria, 6, 0, 0, 11.00, $1,737.74
43. Igor Junqueira, 1, 0, 0, 11.00, $1,122.06
45. Rubens Barbosa, 4, 0, 1, 10.00, $1,500.29
45. Lawson Nobbs, 2, 1, 1, 10.00, $4,344.84
