Chase Outlaw Wins Round 1 of World Finals

LAS VEGAS – Chase Outlaw (Hamburg, Arkansas) has continued to look unstoppable during the last three weeks of the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) season as he christened the brand new T-Mobile Arena with a win in Round 1 of the Built Ford Tough World Finals after an 89.5-point ride on Air Marshall (D&H Cattle Co.) Wednesday night.

Outlaw started PBR Finals Week with a bang by winning this past weekend’s BlueDEF Finals and the BlueDEF Championship and has been on fire since arriving in Las Vegas. Outlaw has gone 8-for-15 in the second half, winning the Built Ford Tough Series regular season finale in Tucson, Arizona, and went 3-for-4 at the BlueDEF Finals.

“Nothing mentally changed,” Outlaw said. “Just doing what I’ve been doing all summer. I had surgery on both shoulders and I feel I’ve come back even stronger.”

Outlaw picked up 300 world points and vaulted four places in the world standings and now sits 14^th.

Cooper Davis (Jasper, Texas), meanwhile, made his first strike toward the World Championship after finishing in second place in Round 1. Davis covered Show Kitty (D&H Cattle Co./Buck Cattle Co.) for 87.5 points and picked up 180 world points, moving him within 60.33 points of current world leader Kaique Pacheco. Pacheco rode Organized Crime (OK Corrales/Gordan/D&H Cattle Co.) for 84.25 points.

Ryan Dirteater (Holbert, Oklahoma) finished third in Round 1, covering High Test (D&H Cattle & Land Co.) for 86.75 points. For his finish, Dirteater earned 125 points toward the world standings.

Defending World Champion J.B. Mauney (Mooresville, North Carolina) also made an early statement after riding Valedictorian (Winston Loe/Melton Bull Co.) for 85.75 points and finishing fourth in Round 1. The 95 world points he earned puts him 600.33 points behind Pacheco.

Cody Nance (Paris, Tennessee) rounded out the Top 5 after his 85.25-point ride on Wired Crazy (D&H Cattle Co./Buck Cattle Co.). Nance picked up 75 points toward the world standings for his finish.

Also on Wednesday night, American Bucking Bull Inc. held Round 1 of their Classic Finals. Acting Crazy from Martinez Bucking Bulls finished in first with an 88.5. Wicked Stick earned an 87.67 for owners Dakota Rodeo/Berger/Struve. Handsome Jeff, from Rodriquez/ Long placed third with an 87.5.

Air Marshall, advanced to the Finals through ABBI’s Wildcard Classic earlier in the week where he took first. The Wildcard Champion finished tonight in fourth with an 86.83. Wrapping up the Top 5 with a split were Cut The Cord(Aduddell/Owens) and Swamp Wreck (01/D&H), who the judges scored 86.67 apiece.

The top ABBI Classic bulls will be invited back for Round 2 on Saturday. The bull with the highest cumulative score will take home the champion buckle, $200,000 and a Big Tex Trailer.

The Top 40 bull riders will return Thursday night for Round 2 of the World Finals starting at 9:30 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network and PBR LIVE. Fans can view PBR LIVE for free via the PBR app or through PBR.com. Round 2 will also feature the first of two outs for the World Champion Bull contenders.

PBR Digital Editor Kristian Limas contributed to this report. 

Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series
Built Ford Tough World Finals
T-Mobile Arena, Las Vegas, Nevada
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Round 5-Round 6-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Chase Outlaw, 89.5-0-0-0-0-0-89.50-300 Points.
2. Cooper Davis, 87.5-0-0-0-0-0-87.50-180 Points.
3. Ryan Dirteater, 86.75-0-0-0-0-0-86.75-125 Points.
4. J.B. Mauney, 85.75-0-0-0-0-0-85.75-95 Points.
5. Cody Nance, 85.25-0-0-0-0-0-85.25-75 Points.
6. Eduardo Aparecido, 85-0-0-0-0-0-85.00-50 Points.
7. Fabiano Vieira, 84.5-0-0-0-0-0-84.50-35 Points.
8. Kaique Pacheco, 84.25-0-0-0-0-0-84.25-17.5 Points.
(tie). Ty Pozzobon, 84.25-0-0-0-0-0-84.25-17.5 Points.
10. Valdiron de Oliveira, 84-0-0-0-0-0-84.00-5 Points.
11. Tyler Harr, 83.75-0-0-0-0-0-83.75
12. Silvano Alves, 63-0-0-0-0-0-63.00
Joao Ricardo Vieira, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Jess Lockwood, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Mike Lee, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Shane Proctor, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Paulo Ferreira Lima, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Guilherme Marchi, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Wallace Vieira de Oliveira, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Tanner Byrne, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Lachlan Richardson, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Robson Palermo, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Mason Lowe, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Gage Gay, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Stetson Lawrence, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Rubens Barbosa, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Stormy Wing, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Aaron Roy, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Marco Antonio Eguchi, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Luis Blanco, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Nathan Schaper, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Nevada Newman, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Kasey Hayes, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Buttar, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Emilio Resende, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Juliano Antonio Da Silva, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Dener Barbosa, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Neil Holmes, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Zane Cook, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00