MASON TAYLOR WINS ROUND 1 OF PBR UNLEASH THE BEAST EVENT IN CHICAGO

CHICAGO – With more than half of the competing riders logging a score in front of Friday night’s raucous crowd at Allstate Arena, Mason Taylor (Maypearl, Texas) rode a cut above the rest, winning Round 1 of the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Unleash The Beast event in Chicago, surging to an early lead at the Tractor Supply Co. Invitational.

Taylor was one of 22 riders to log a score, keeping the electric crowd at the edge of its seat all night long.

For the young Texan, Taylor was matched up with WSM’s Sun Country (WSM Auctioneers/Clay Struve/Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger). Remaining in perfect time with the swift and powerful animal athlete, he reached the requisite 8 for a crucial 87.5 points.

For the golden finish, Taylor collected 28 Unleash The Beast points as he seeks his first PBR World Championship at season’s end.

Taylor, however, is within the sights of Derek Kolbaba (Walla Walla, Washington) and Dakota Louis (Browning, Montana), who tied for second, and are just 1.5 points back of the lead.

Kolbaba and Louis both logged 86-point rides, conquering Back Jack (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger) and Simon (K-C Bucking Bulls/Daniels Cattle Co.) respectively.

Each rider left Allstate Arena having earned 17.5 Unleash The Beast points.

Rounding out the Top 5 and tying for fourth was 2016 PBR World Champion Cooper Davis (Jasper, Texas), 2020 PBR Rookie of the Year Boudreaux Campbell (Crockett, Texas) and Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil).

All marked 85.5 points, Davis covered Crime Time (C Check Bucking Bulls), Campbell topped Tramp (Nothin’ But Try Ranch/Booth Bucking Bulls), and Vieira outlasted High Plains Drifter (Flying C/Flying P Bucking Bulls).

Each member of the trio garnered 15 Unleash The Beast points.

Action for the PBR Tractor Supply Co. Invitational will conclude with Round 2 and the championship round on Saturday, Jan. 14. Action gets underway at 6:45 p.m. CST.

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. Click here for on-demand PBR programming.

PBR Unleash The Beast
PBR Tractor Supply Co. Invitational
Allstate Arena – Rosemont, Illinois
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Mason Taylor, 87.5-0-0-87.50-28 Points.

2. Derek Kolbaba, 86-0-0-86.00-17.5 Points.

(tie). Dakota Louis, 86-0-0-86.00-17.5 Points.

4. Cooper Davis, 85.5-0-0-85.50-15 Points.

(tie). Boudreaux Campbell, 85.5-0-0-85.50-15 Points.

(tie). João Ricardo Vieira, 85.5-0-0-85.50-15 Points.

7. Conner Halverson, 85-0-0-85.00-13 Points.

8. Alex Marcilio, 84.75-0-0-84.75-12 Points.

9. Luciano De Castro, 84.25-0-0-84.25-11 Points.

10. Thiago Salgado, 84-0-0-84.00-9 Points.

(tie). Dener Barbosa, 84-0-0-84.00-9 Points.

(tie). Adriano Salgado, 84-0-0-84.00-9 Points.

13. Koltin Hevalow, 83.75-0-0-83.75-8 Points.

14. Jose Vitor Leme, 83.5-0-0-83.50-8 Points.

(tie). Dalton Kasel, 83.5-0-0-83.50-8 Points.

(tie). Ezekiel Mitchell, 83.5-0-0-83.50-8 Points.

17. Manoelito de Souza Junior, 83-0-0-83.00-8 Points.

(tie). Kaique Pacheco, 83-0-0-83.00-8 Points.

19. Dalton Rudman, 82.75-0-0-82.75-8 Points.

20. Andrew Alvidrez, 81-0-0-81.00-8 Points.

21. Silvano Alves, 80.75-0-0-80.75-8 Points.

22. Eli Vastbinder, 80.25-0-0-80.25

Daniel Keeping, 0-0-0-0.00

Rafael Jose de Brito, 0-0-0-0.00

Eduardo Aparecido, 0-0-0-0.00

Jesse Petri, 0-0-0-0.00

Brady Oleson, 0-0-0-0.00

Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0.00

Bob Mitchell, 0-0-0-0.00

Sandro Batista, 0-0-0-0.00

Colten Fritzlan, 0-0-0-0.00

Tate Pollmeier, 0-0-0-0.00

Wyatt Rogers, 0-0-0-0.00

Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 0-0-0-0.00

Alex Cerqueira, 0-0-0-0.00

João Henrique Lucas, 0-0-0-0.00

Ednei Caminhas, 0-0-0-0.00

Alisson De Souza, 0-0-0-0.00

Jake Morinec, 0-0-0-0.00

PROVIDED COURTESY OF PBR TO TENN TEXAS MEDIA