SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – Guilherme Valleiras (Pirassununga, Brazil), who debuted on the Unleash The Beast one week ago, outlasted a battered group of bull riders to win the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) First PREMIER Bank/ PREMIER Bankcard Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires.
Valleiras was the only rider to ride two bulls in Sioux Falls during another punishing weekend for PBR’s top riders.
With World No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil) sidelined due to injury, 2018 PBR World Champion Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil), who had entered the 18th event of the Unleash the Beast season 61.5 points behind Leme,parlayed his Round 1 qualified ride to a third-place finish, and he strode from the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center as the new world leader.
Pacheco now sits a slim 2.5 points ahead of Leme as the world title race heats up with five events remaining until the PBR World Finals in Fort Worth, Texas, May 12-21.
After coming in fifth in the opening round courtesy of his 82.25-point matchup with Devaronian (Shuler Bucking Bulls), 21-year-old Valleiras knew that in Sunday’s Round 2 he had to get past another rank pen of bulls to continue to climb the leaderboard.
Paired with Soul Train (Shuler Bucking Bulls) as Sunday afternoon began, the young gun Brazilian, who came to the United States in early January with the dream to become of member of a PBR Team Series roster, exploded from the chutes and hung on to make the 8.
With three of the world’s top five bull riders and half of the top 30 out due to injury, along with the pen of rank bulls dominating the weekend, he decided to keep the 76.5-point ride, which moved him to the top of the leaderboard entering the championship round as the only man to conquer two bulls thus far in the weekend.
Valleiras then selected Mr. Right Now (Silent 7/ Hilton Bull Co.) as his final opponent on the weekend, but despite the help of his good friend and 2022 Austin Gambler Adriano Salgado (Batatais, Brazil), he was dispatched in 5.45 seconds. His two previous scores still put him on the victor’s podium, allowing him to collect 107 UTB points.
Valleiras’ 2-for-3 first-place finish moved him to No. 38 in the UTB standings, and he earned a check for $41,458.81.
For video highlights of Round 2 and the championship round, including Valleiras’ winning ride, courtesy PBR, click here.
Capturing second place overall for the weekend was Valleiras’ fellow countryman Rafael Jose de Brito (Potirendaba, Brazil).
After a tumultuous Round 1, coming down hard after 6.14 seconds after Ngata Chance (Viducic Bucking Bulls/ White Trash Buckers) launched him in the air, Brito was paired with Mike’s Motive (Blake Sharp/ High Voltage/ Wetzel/ Knott) for Sunday’s Round 2.
He recorded the highest regular round score of the weekend at 90.75 points, punching his ticket into the final round.
Brito’s Championship Round ended abruptly when Ricky Vaughn (D&H Cattle Co/ Buck Cattle Co) dispatched him after 1.9 seconds.
Brito’s 1-for-3 weekend netted him 79 UTB points to move him from No. 7 to No.5 in the standings.
Pacheco rounded out the top three finishers.
On Friday night, the 28-year-old, who led the Nashville Stampede to the inaugural 2022 PBR Team Series Championship, was paired with Soul King (Blake Sharp/ Cody Gill/ Marcus Cannon) as the evening’s last out.
The 2018 World Champion, who has won the annual Sioux Falls event twice, recorded a standout 88.25 points to take the lead in Round 1.
As Saturday night’s continuation of the round played out, the dominant bulls yielded only one qualified ride, and none of Pacheco’s fellow competitors were able to surpass him on the leaderboard.
Knowing he had to hit the gas on Sunday, Pacheco readied for his matchup in Round 2 with Exodus (Gene Owen Bucking Bulls), which ended after a mere 2.08 seconds.
Despite the buck off, Pacheco’s Round 1 win catapulted him into the Championship Round as Sunday closed out.
Selecting Flapjack (Parker/ OK Corralis/ Gordon/ D&H Cattle), Pacheco was unable to make the 8 after the gate flew open.
Despite the 1-for-3 weekend, Pacheco collected 64 UTB points for his third-place finish, allowing him to cruise into the No. 1 spot in the standings.
Arkansas cowboy Chase Outlaw (Hamburg, Arkansas) locked up fourth place over the weekend courtesy of an 88-point ride aboard Sweet Train (D&H Cattle Co/ Gordon/ OK Corralis) in Round 2.
Despite setbacks in Round 1 when Cuttin Torch (D&H Cattle/Flinn) dispatched him after 3.55 seconds, Outlaw punched his ticket into the Championship Round.
Paired with Chateau Montelena’s Montana Jacket (Vella/ Coleman/Ogden/Hart), the crowd reached a deafening roar as the “CEO of Outlaw Nation” and popular rider on the Oklahoma Freedom in the PBR Team Series launched from the chutes.
Hitting the ground after just 3.24 seconds was less than ideal, but Outlaw’s 1-for-3 weekend earned him 39 UTB points to move him from No. 39 to No. 36.
The three-day event in Sioux Falls showcased a unique format for UTB fans. The draw featured 60 riders competing in Round 1, which involved riders split into two groups across Friday and Saturday nights.
Friday’s Round 1 featured the riders that competed in Saturday’s 15/15 Bucking Battle plus 20 additional riders, while Saturday night the 25 riders who did not compete on the opening night finished out Round 1.
On Sunday, all seeded riders and riders with exemptions were guaranteed to ride, plus any of the additional riders that recorded a qualified ride in Round 1, and was later followed by the championship round, featuring the Top 12 in the event aggregate.
Earlier in the weekend during Saturday night’s special 15/15 Bucking Battle, the energy inside of the Denny Sanford PREMIER Center had fans on the edge of their seats as two Brazilian cowboys registered the only qualified rides of the round.
Rafael Henrique dos Santos (Quitman, Georgia), who began the weekend in the No. 23 spot in the UTB standings, was paired with Manaba (Joe & Nina Webb/ Julian/ D&H Cattle Co). In a special round where the bulls dominated, his standout 90.75-point ride earned him his first 15/15 Battle win in 2023, moving him to No. 18.
For video highlights of the 15/15 Bucking Battle, including Santos’ winning ride, courtesy PBR, click here.
Not far behind Santos in the 15/15 was fellow countryman Eduardo Aparecido (Gouvelandia, Brazil), who paired with I’m Legit Too (Hart Cattle Co/ Hale), putting up 87.5 points.
Outside of the special round, Aparecido had a successful weekend overall in South Dakota, rounding out the Top 5.
The 32-year-old 2022 Arizona Ridge Rider in the separate PBR Team Series was paired with Hard Candy (Braun Bucking Bulls) on Friday night for Round 1. The seasoned veteran matched his twisting bovine partner jump-for-jump to record an 87.5-point score and sail up the leaderboard.
In Round 2, however, he was no match for Pepe Le Pew (D&H Cattle Company), slammed to the ground hard on his back at 7.1 seconds. Visibly impacted by the landing, Aparecido declined to ride in the Championship Round.
Aparecido, who began the weekend at No. 15, now sits at No. 11 in the standings after collecting 35 UTB points.
In the bullpen, the impressive 46-point buck off by 2022 PBR World Champion Bull Ridin’ Solo (Cord McCoy/ Bill McCarty/ McCoy Rodeo) in his matchup with Rafael Henrique dos Santos (Quitman, Georgia) earned the esteemed animal athlete the YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the Event title.
PBR RidePass on Pluto TV will offer re-airs and on-demand replays of every PBR UTB event and is available on desktops, laptops and mobile devices via www.pluto.tv.
The PBR Unleash The Beast next travels to Nampa, Idaho, for the PBR Gem State Bucking Battle, presented by Cooper Tires on Friday, April 7, at 7:45 p.m. MDT and Saturday, April 8 at 6:45 p.m. MDT at the Ford Idaho Center.
Elsewhere in the PBR, in front of a boisterous Saturday night crowd in Casper, Wyoming, Lane Lasley (Marshall, Arkansas) and Alex Cardozo (Indaiatuba, Brazil) dominated, each going a perfect 2-for-2 inside Ford Wyoming Center to tie for the event win at the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s Casper Invitational.
Lasley got off to a quick start in the Cowboy State, punching his ticket the championship round when he covered White Thunder (Dana White/UBT/DD) for 78.5 points.
Tenth on the event leaderboard, the Arkansas rider then catapulted to the top spot in the standings when he rode Not Yet (Team Wyatt) for a tour stop-best 88.5 points.
The golden finish garnered Lasley 102 Velocity Global points.
Cardozo delivered a pair of matching 83.5-point rides to clinch the shared win. In Round 1 he topped Figure 8 (Triple C Bucking Bulls), while in the final round he dominated Eager Snake (Triple C Bucking Bulls).
The veteran Brazilian left Wyoming having earned 96.5 Velocity Global points.
The PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour next travels to Grand Forks, North Dakota, on Saturday, April 15. Action for the PBR Grand Forks Chute Out at the Alerus Center gets underway at 7 p.m. CDT.
PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour PBR Casper Invitational
Ford Wyoming Center – Casper, Wyoming
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Lane Lasley, 78.5-88.5-167.00-102 Points.
(tie). Alex Cardozo, 83.5-83.5-167.00-96.5 Points.
3. Afonso Quintino, 83-83-166.00-64.5 Points.
4. Dakota Warnken, 86-0-86.00-39.66 Points.
(tie). Dustin Herman, 0-86-86.00-34.66 Points.
(tie). Rubens Barbosa, 86-0-86.00-39.66 Points.
PBR Unleash The Beast –First PREMIER Bank/ PREMIER Bankcard Invitational
Denny Sanford PREMIER Center -Sioux Falls, South Dakota
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Guilherme Valleiras, 0-82.25-76.5-0-158.75-107 Points.
2. Rafael Jose de Brito, 0-0-90.75-0-90.75-79 Points.
3. Kaique Pacheco, 0-88.25-0-0-88.25-64 Points.
4. Chase Outlaw, 0-0-88-0-88.00-39 Points.
5. Eduardo Aparecido, 0-87.5-0-0-87.50-35 Points.
6. Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 0-87-0-0-87.00-26 Points.
(tie). Wyatt Rogers, 0-0-87-0-87.00-26 Points.
8. Jesse Petri, 0-0-86.25-0-86.25-21 Points.
9. Dawson Branton, 0-85.75-0-0-85.75-20 Points.
10. Tate Pollmeier, 0-0-84.5-0-84.50-17 Points.
11. Zane Cook, 0-81-0-0-81.00-15 Points.
12. Aaron Williams, 0-0-79.75-0-79.75-13 Points.
Dalton Kasel, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Andrew Alvidrez, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cooper Davis, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Daniel Keeping, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Dener Barbosa, 0-0-0-0-0.00
João Ricardo Vieira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Silvano Alves, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Wingson Henrique da Silva, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Colten Fritzlan, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Eli Vastbinder, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Koltin Hevalow, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Manoelito de Souza Junior, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Braidy Randolph, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ramon de Lima, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Marcus Mast, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Flavio Zivieri, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Nick Tetz, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Louis, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Chase Dougherty, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Adriano Salgado, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Conner Halverson, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Griffin Smeltzer, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Afonso Quintino, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Josh Frost, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cassio Dias, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Matt Triplett, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Elizmar Jeremias, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-0-0-0-0.00
Casey Coulter, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Trace Brown, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Dustin Martinez, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Eagleburger, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Mason Moody, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody McCandless, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Brandon Chambers, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Carlos Garcia, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Kyle Jones, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Trent Nugent, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Hooks, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Garrett Jones, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Brady Turgeon, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ray Mayo, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Brandon McDowell, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Alvaro Ariel, 0-0-0-0-0.00
