FORT WORTH, Texas – PBR (Professional Bull Riders) world No. 1 Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York) delivered a Top-10 effort Thursday night in Round 4 of the 2022 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast by riding his third bull of the grueling event and expanding his lead over No. 2 Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil) in one of the closest championship races in the organization’s 29-year history.
Kaique Pacheco rides Malaki for a 91.5 score video provided courtesy of the pbr to tenn texas media
No. 3 Kaique Pacheco (Itatinga, Brazil) won the round with a 91.5-point score to place himself within 44.99 points of the No. 1 position in the furious race for the season’s gold buckle.
As the final man to leave the chutes inside Dickies Arena, Swearingen readied to face a familiar opponent in Train Station (Winston/Melton/Stockyards Pro Rodeo). To begin the 2022 campaign, Swearingen covered the powerful animal athlete for 90.5 points at an early season Touring Pro Division event at nearby Cowtown Coliseum.
Daylon Swearingen rides Train Station for a score of 85.75 video provided courtesy of the pbr to tenn texas media
Undeterred by the bright lights of the premier series, and raucous cheer of the electric Lone Star State crowd, Swearingen was again a picture of perfection atop Train Station. Reaching the requisite 8, Swearingen was scored 85.75 points, the seventh best score of Round 4.
The qualified ride garnered Swearingen a crucial 28 world points.
The significance of the ride was magnified when considered in tandem with the outs witnessed just moments prior to Swearingen’s successful trip.
Both entering the fourth round of competition having gone a perfect 3-for-3, world No. 2 Vieira was upended by Charmer (D&H Cattle Co./Buck Cattle Co.) for the second time in his career, dispatched in a close 6.75 seconds, while Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil), was bested by Safety Meeting (Hruby/Kainz/Clay Struve/Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger) in 3.63 seconds.
After beginning Round 4 16.99 points ahead of Vieira, Swearingen now leads the veteran Brazilian Vieira by an increased 44.99 points, and is 318.66 points ahead of No. 5 Leme.
Swearingen also rose to third on the event leaderboard. Having gone 3-for-4 in the opening rounds, Swearingen trails aggregate leader Cody Jesus (Window Rock, Arizona) by 84.75 points.
He surpassed Vieira, who is now fourth in the event, by a mere 4.25 points.
Despite putting distance between himself and Vieira, Swearingen is now locked in the sights of Pacheco, the top-marked rider in Round 4.
Continuing to compete with a broken foot, 2018 PBR World Champion Pacheco rode supreme in the fourth round when he covered Malaki (Jenkins Cattle Co.) for a monstrous 91.5 points, his second 90-point effort of the event, after delivering his first head-turning score in Round 2 when he rode Bread Basket (TNT Bucking Bulls/Hart Cattle Co.) for 91.75 points.
Pacheco’s round win garnered him a much-needed 89 world points, along with a check for $35,000.
After beginning Round 4 107.49 points back of No. 1 Swearingen, Pacheco is now within 46.49 points of the top rank, and a slim 1.5 points of No. 2 Vieira.
The laser-focused Brazilian is also positioned to contend for his first PBR World Finals event win. Having now gone 3-for-4, Pacheco is second in the event, 80.75 points behind top-performing rider Jesus.
While three men began Round 4 with a perfect record, only one – Jesus — left Dickies Arena with his flawless record intact.
Cody Jesus rides Moonlight Party for a 84.75 score video provided courtesy of the pbr to tenn texas media
Tasked with YETI PBR World Champion Bull of the Year contender Moonlight Party (Jane Clark/Gene Owen), Jesus incredibly hung on after being nearly parallel to the ground on the Canadian-born bull en route to a gutsy 84.75-point score.
Jesus remained in firm control of the No. 1 position on the event leaderboard. As the only rider to be a perfect 4-for-4, he leads the remainder of the field by one ride score or more.
Also collecting 24 world points, Jesus rose one position in the world standings, climbing from No. 19 to No. 18.
Round 4 of the 2022 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast also featured the second of three outs for the top bulls in contention for the YETI PBR World Champion Bull honor. The top bucking bulls competing at the Finals will receive three outs, and World Champion contenders will be able to drop their lowest score in Fort Worth.
After claiming sole ownership of the No. 1 rank in Round 2, Ridin Solo (Cord McCoy/Bill McCarty) extended his lead over No. 2 Woopaa (Barker Bulls/Hookin’ W Ranch) with a monstrous 47-point out.
Ezekiel Mitchell bucks off Ridin Solo video provided courtesy of the pbr to tenn texas media
In what is now the second-best bull score of the 2022 PBR World Finals, Ridin Solo earned the marks after tossing Ezekiel Mitchell (Rockdale, Texas) in 3.35 seconds.
Woopaa, was unable to match those marks, awarded only 45.25 points for his 3.86-second trip with 2002 PBR World Champion Ednei Caminhas (Indaiatuba, Brazil).
Ednei Caminhas bucks off Woopaa video provided courtesy of the pbr to tenn texas media
As a result, Ridin Solo’s world average grew to 46.22 points, increasing 0.11 points, while Woopaa’s slipped 0.08 points to 45.78 points. Ridin Solo will return to competition on Championship Sunday with 0.44-point lead over Woopaa as the two titans of the sport ready for one final out to determine the year’s World Champion.
The 2022 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast continues with Round 5 on Friday May 20 at 7:45 p.m. CDT.
PBR RidePass on Pluto TV 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, and click here for on-demand PBR programming.
Stay tuned to PBR.com for the latest news and results, and be sure to follow the league on all social media platforms at @PBR.
PBR Unleash The Beast PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast Dickies Arena – Fort Worth, Texas Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Round 5-Round 6-Round 7-Round 8-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
