Claudio Montana Jr. Wins in Billings

By: Heather Croze
April 22, 2018

BILLINGS, Montana – Brazilian Claudio Montanha Jr. (Ribeirao dos Indios, Brazil) won his second event of the season on Sunday at the 25^th PBR: Unleash The Beast, Stanley Performance In Action Invitational presented by Cooper Tires. Montanha Jr. went 3-for-3 to find himself atop the shark cage at Rimrock Auto Arena in Billings, Montana, the third rider this season to be victorious at multiple elite tour events.

The 28-year-old rode Blue Stone (D&H Cattle Co./Flying High Rodeo) for the required 8 to start the day, before earning the highest marks in the Championship Round with 89.5 points aboard Catfish John (Dakota Rodeo-Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Miller).

“My heart’s about to explode from happiness,” Montanha Jr. said through an interpreter.  “It’s a big dream come true. I’ve never been number one in the world.  I’m here now and with this sweet win this weekend, I want to thank all the fans and my son and say I love you.”

With the win, Montanha Jr. earned 750 points towards the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) world standings and became the No. 1 bull rider in the world, jumping from No 6 to No. 1. He also takes home a paycheck for $41,089.39.

A big day on Sunday, fellow Brazilian Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil) also went 3-for-3 to finish second, rising from No. 8 to No. 4 in the PBR world standings. The 2015 Rookie of the Year earned 86.25 points on Rebound (Berger Bucking Bulls) in Round 2. The stoic bull rider was all business in the Championship Round, putting up 86.5 points on Gambini (Dakota Rodeo/Julie Rosen/Clay Struve/Chad Berger). He earned 362.5 points along with $18,097.63. Pacheco has now covered his last seven draws, flawless at the past two premier series events.

Countryman Alex Marcilio (Macaubal, Brazil) finished third, his second Top-5 finish in 2018. The 30-year old put up 86.25 points on Paddle Lock (Berger Bucking Bulls) before scoring 86.75 on Bad Beagle (Phenom Genetics/Rothe) in the Championship Round. For his efforts, he earned 290 world points and $14,416.67. He vaulted seven spots in the standings from No. 27 to No. 20.

Fourth place went to Keyshawn Whitehorse (The Woodlands, Texas) who conquered Embers (Bierema Rodeo Inc.) for 85 points in the opening round of the night, but he hit the dirt early in the Championship Round. It’s his highest finish since ending the St. Louis Invitational in third place on Feb. 17. He earned 225 world points and $10,942.75.

Continuing his climb up the world standings, Whitehorse is now ranked No. 14 in the world and continues to lead the race for Rookie of the Year.

Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil) earned his second Top-5 finish of the year with a fifth place showing in the Treasure State. Viera rode Whiskey Bent (Wentz Bucking Bulls/New West Rodeos) in Round 2 but was bucked off More Big Bucks (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Staci Wilks/N Bar Ranch) in the Championship Round. He finished the weekend with 150 world points and a paycheck for $7,064.39.

For the sixth time this year, SweetPro’s Bruiser (D&H Cattle Co.) was named the YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the Event compliments of his buckoff of Montanha Jr. at the 4.67-second mark during Saturday night’s 15/15 Bucking Battle. He earned a bull score of 46.25 points.

Fans will be able to watch all the action from Billings in its entirety on RidePass.com or via the RidePass mobile app on Monday, April 23 at 8:00 a.m.

The 25^th PBR: Unleash The Beast now travels to Columbus, Ohio and the Schottenstein Center, located on the campus of The Ohio State University, on April 28-29. The Columbus Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, begins at 6:45 p.m. ET on Saturday and 1:45 p.m. ET on Sunday.

The sixth 15/15 Bucking Battle will take place on Saturday night and will be shown on Sunday, April 29 at 1:00 p.m. ET on CBS. Round 2 and the Championship Round will be shown on CBS Sports Network starting at 8:00 p.m. ET.

25^th PBR Unleash The Beast
Stanley Performance In Action Invitational presented by Cooper Tires
Billings, Montana Rimrock Auto Arena
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-87-86.25-89.5-262.75-750 Points.
2. Kaique Pacheco, 0-84.25-85.5-86.5-256.25-362.5 Points.
3. Alex Marcilio, 0-0-86.25-86.75-173.00-290 Points.
4. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-87.75-85-0-172.75-225 Points.
5. Joao Ricardo Vieira, 0-84-86.25-0-170.25-150 Points.
6. Sean Willingham, 0-0-86.5-0-86.50-120 Points.
7. Dakota Buttar, 0-86-0-0-86.00-95 Points.
8. Lonnie West, 0-85.5-0-0-85.50-80 Points.
9. Alisson Souza, 0-76-85.5-0-161.50-72.5 Points.
10. Jess Lockwood, 0-85-0-0-85.00-65 Points.
11. Tye Chandler, 0-84-0-0-84.00-40 Points.
12. Ramon de Lima, 0-83.25-0-0-83.25-25 Points.
13. Brock Radford, 0-0-85.25-0-85.25-15 Points.
(tie). Junio Quaresima, 0-80.75-0-0-80.75-15 Points.
15. Valdiron de Oliveira, 0-0-79.25-0-79.25-5 Points.
16. Cody Nance, 0-0-78-0-78.00
Luciano De Castro, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Eduardo Aparecido, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cooper Davis, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Brennon Eldred, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ryan Dirteater, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Stetson Lawrence, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Tanner Byrne, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Fabiano Vieira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Marco Antonio Eguchi, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Lucas Divino, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Heffernan, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Campbell, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Colten Jesse, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Michael Lane, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Paulo Ferreira Lima, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Justin Granger, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Lindomar Lino, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Wallace Vieira de Oliveira, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Fernando Henrique Novais, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ueberson Duarte, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Rubens Barbosa, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Jorge Valdiviezo, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Troy Wilkinson, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ryan Miller, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Bryan Titman, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ricky Aguiar, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Jesse Tillman, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cristiano Figueredo, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Jesus, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Casper, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Lawson Nobbs, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Lachlan Richardson, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Taylor Toves, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Danilo Carlos Sobrinho, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Garret Lange, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Austin Richardson, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Eagleburger, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Daniel Tinsman, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Kache Moosman, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Luke Bradley, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Clint Brewer, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Zane Lambert, 0-0-0-0-0.00

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