ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A raucous, sold-out crowd inside of The Pit roared as Thiago Salgado (Navirai, Brazil) captured the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Unleash The Beast (UTB) Ty Murray Invitational Round 2 win on Saturday night.
After being bucked off of Hard Candy (Braun Bucking Bulls) in 2.13 seconds on Friday night, the 21-year-old, who will ride for the Florida Freedom during the 2024 PBR Team Series, was paired with Spice (Flying C/ Tom Baker) on night two in Albuquerque. Rocketing from the chutes as the packed arena roared, Salgado was one of only 14 men out of a field of 40 to record a qualified ride in Round 2. His 86.75-point ride earned his first-round win of the 2024 season.
The three-day event at The Pit marks the 17th event of the 24-event individual season and is the last of three majors in the 2024 UTB season where added points and payouts are on the line. The draw features 40 riders competing in Rounds 1 and 2. Every contestant who has a qualified ride in the first two rounds will then be eligible to compete in Round 3 on Sunday. The 12 bull riders with the top combined ride scores following Rounds 1, 2, and 3 will then advance to the championship round Sunday afternoon.
The round win earned the Brazilian cowboy 38 Unleash The Beast points. Having arrived in New Mexico in the No. 37 spot in the standings, Salgado climbed to No. 29 as Saturday rolled to a close.
After a sixth-place finish on Friday night courtesy of an 86-point ride score aboard Horn Dog (D4 Cattle Co/Double F Ranch), Austin Gamblers’ man Dalton Kasel (Muleshoe, Texas) was matched with Whoa (Barthold & Eldred) in Round 2.
Despite a stern look on his face as he prepared for his matchup on the back of the chutes, Kasel, who finished as the No. 4 man at the 2023 Ty Murray Invitational, was all smiles as soon as his feet hit the dirt and his 86.5-point score was announced.
For his runner-up finish in the round, the 25-year-old Texan earned 28 Unleash The Beast points. More importantly, Kasel secured the No. 2 spot on the weekend leaderboard – a mere three points behind event leader Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil).
Kasel maintained his hold at No. 3 in the Unleash The Beast standings.
Vieira and Jesse Petri (Dublin, Texas) tied for third place in Round 2 with matching 86.25-point scores.
Petri was the first up in the duo, paired with Ah Hell (Cooper/ Scruggs Bucking Bulls) for a crowd-pleasing ride.
Vieira, who rides for the Texas Rattlers, followed suit with his signature perfect form aboard Red River (Ty Rinaldo TZ Bucking Bulls).
Both cowboys collected 21 Unleash The Beast points. Petri, who arrived in Albuquerque at No. 32, cruised upward to No. 28 while the veteran Vieira moved up one spot from No. 8 to No. 7.
Kasel’s fellow Gamblers’ teammate, two-time PBR World Champion Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil) rounded out the Top 5 of Round 2.
Making his return in Duke City after missing the past four events, Leme started the weekend strong with a solid 84-point ride in Friday’s Round 1 aboard Bubba G (Dakota Rodeo/ Brian & Ashley Pintar/ Clay Struve/ Chad Berger).
Paired with Taylor’s Cowtown Throwdown (Farris Cattle/ Big Schott Rodeo/ Triple T Livestock) on Saturday night, a bull he has never matched up with previously, Leme showcased his world champion talent as the incredibly agile animal athlete leapt from the chutes at an astonishing height. His 85.75-point score put him in third place on the weekend leaderboard heading into Championship Sunday.
Leme earned 19 Unleash The Beast points and moved from the No. 27 spot in the standings to No. 26.
ThePBR Albuquerque Ty Murray Invitational Unleash The Beast Major continues with Round 3 and the Championship Round on Sunday, March 24, at 1:45 p.m. MT.
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 Major– PBR Ty Murray Invitational
The Pit –Albuquerque, New Mexico
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. João Ricardo Vieira, 89.25-86.25-0-0-175.50-49 Points.
2. Dalton Kasel, 86-86.5-0-0-172.50-45 Points.
3. Jose Vitor Leme, 84-85.75-0-0-169.75-29.5 Points.
4. Kaique Pacheco, 85.25-84.25-0-0-169.50-24 Points.
5. Eduardo Aparecido, 84-85.25-0-0-169.25-24.5 Points.
6. John Crimber, 90-0-0-0-90.00-39 Points.
7. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 87.5-0-0-0-87.50-22 Points.
8. Mason Taylor, 87-0-0-0-87.00-20 Points.
9. Thiago Salgado, 0-86.75-0-0-86.75-38 Points.
10. Felipe Furlan, 86.25-0-0-0-86.25-19 Points.
(tie). Jesse Petri, 0-86.25-0-0-86.25-21 Points.
12. Cort McFadden, 85.75-0-0-0-85.75-15 Points.
(tie). Nick Tetz, 85.75-0-0-0-85.75-15 Points.
14. Cassio Dias, 0-85.5-0-0-85.50-16.5 Points.
(tie). Koltin Hevalow, 0-85.5-0-0-85.50-16.5 Points.
16. Ederson Santos, 0-84.75-0-0-84.75-13 Points.
17. Vitor Losnake, 0-83.5-0-0-83.50-10 Points.
18. Alan de Souza, 0-83.25-0-0-83.25-9 Points.
19. JaCauy Hale, 0-81.75-0-0-81.75-8 Points.
20. Bob Mitchell, 0-80.25-0-0-80.25-8 Points.
21. Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 50.5-0-0-0-50.50-1 Points.
22. Wingson Henrique da Silva, 47-0-0-0-47.00
Caden Bunch, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Brady Fielder, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Jesus, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Julio Cesar Marques, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Kaiden Loud, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Leonardo Castro, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Alex Cerqueira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Daylon Swearingen, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Boudreaux Campbell, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ednélio Almeida, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Conner Halverson, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Silvano Alves, 0-0-0-0-0.00
João Lucas Campos, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Dener Barbosa, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Andrew Alvidrez, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Trace Redd, 0-0-0-0-0.00
