FORT WORTH, Texas – The 2023 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) World Championship battle intensified Sunday afternoon as gold buckle contenders Dalton Kasel (Muleshoe, Texas) and Cooper Davis (Jasper, Texas) logged Top 5 scores in Round 3 of the World Finals to gain significant ground on No. 1 Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil), who is not competing due to injury.
Kasel finally made the 8 in Fort Worth when he cracked the code atop Hang Em High (Bryan T. Smith/Nathan Doss) for 89 points. Marking Kasel’s first score at the 30th anniversary World Finals, the effort was the third-best of the round and netted him 44 Unleash The Beast points.
While he remained No. 3 in the standings, Kasel inched within 187.34 points of No. 1 Pacheco and is now within 113.34 points of No. 2 Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil). Kasel is also now tied for eighth on the event leaderboard.
Leme has uncharacteristically gone 0-for-3 at the 2023 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast. During the third round, he was upended by Pearl’s Ghost (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger) in 5.79 seconds.
Davis also snapped his two-out buckoff streak at the World Finals when he registered the fifth-best score of Round 3, opting for a re-ride after being marked just 66.5 points atop Medicine Man (TNT Bucking Bulls/Hart Cattle Co.).
Davis readied to take on Bubba G (Dakota Rodeo/Brian & Ashley Pintar/Clay Struve/Chad Berger). In a decision that paid dividends, Davis matched the bull jump-for-jump en route to the whistle, marked 88 points.
Garnering 34 Unleash The Beast points, the 2016 PBR World Champion rose from No. 5 to No. 4 in the standings. He is now within 300.5 points of No. 1 Pacheco.
Elsewhere in the world’s Top 10, Rafael Jose de Brito (Potirendaba, Brazil) won Round 3 compliments of a monstrous 90.5-point ride aboard Chiseled (Flinn/D&H Cattle Co.), the first 90-point ride of the 2023 World Finals.
Earning a check for $35,000, Brito also collected a crucial 89 Unleash The Beast points. He climbed from No. 9 to No. 7 in the standings and is now 336 points back of the No. 1 rank.
2020 PBR World Finals event winner Boudreaux Campbell (Crockett, Texas) also logged a mammoth 90-point ride, besting I’m Legit Too (Hart Cattle Co./Hale) for 90.25 points to finish second in Round 3.
Campbell garnered 49 Unleash The Beast points for the ride, cracking the Top 5 in the world as he leapfrogged Dener Barbosa (Paulo de Faria, Brazil), who was bucked off in 3.63 seconds by Megalonmaniac (Rafter G Rodeo Co.) in Round 3, for the No. 5 rank.
The Texan is now 308.34 points back of the top rank as he seeks his first gold buckle at season’s end.
Attempting to win the World Finals for the second time in his career, Campbell is also now second in the event standings, a mere 0.75 points behind leader Ramon de Lima (Rio Branco, Brazil).
Lima and Campbell are two of just four riders to have covered multiple bulls to date at the 2023 PBR World Finals.
Lima overtook the event lead in Round 3 when he covered Hoka Hey (Blake Sharp/Chris Utz/Carey Brothers) for 88.75 points. The score, which was the fourth-best of the round, also earned him 40 Unleash The Beast points, elevating him from No. 17 to No. 14 in the standings.
Braidy Randolph (Jonestown, Pennsylvania) and Colten Fritzlan (Rifle, Colorado) are third and fourth in the event as both logged their second consecutive ride at the 2023 World Finals.
Randolph rode Taylor’s Cowtown Throwdown (Triple T Livestock/Farris Cattle/Platinum Bull Co.) for 87.25 points, the seventh-best score, while Fritzlan topped Detroit Lean (Blake Sharp/Henry Wilson) for 86.75 points, the eighth-best effort of the afternoon.
Earning 28 Unleash The Beast points, Randolph rose from No. 24 to No. 21 in the standings.
Fritzlan, who took home 24 Unleash The Beast points, gained one position, elevated from No. 19 to No. 18.
The 2023 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast continues with Round 4 on Thursday, May 18, at 7:45 p.m. CDT
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)
1. Ramon de Lima, 87-0-88.75-0-0-0-0-0-175.75-80 Points.
