CHARLOTTE, N.C. – Staley, North Carolina, bull rider Gage Gay posted 88 points atop Americana (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Hruby/Kainz) to win Round 1 of the PBR’s (Professional Bull Riders) Express Employment Professionals Invitational, part of the elite Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS), at Time Warner Cable Arena on Friday night.
Gay earned 100 points toward the PBR world standings with his round win.
Cooper Davis picked up 60 world points after covering Pure Bull (Jeff Robinson/BMC/TNT) for 87 points to land in second place in the round.
Rubens Barbosa and Tanner Byrne tied for third with 86.5 points apiece on Whistlin Dixie (Jeff Robinson Bucking Bulls) and King Buck (BMC Bucking Bulls/Jeff Robinson), respectively. They each received 45 points toward the world standings.
In honor of the PBR Pink Promise campaign to raise money for the Breast Cancer Research Foundation (BCRF), every Friday at the remaining BFTS events will be Wrangler Tough Enough to Wear Pink Night, featuring the $5,000 Bootdaddy.com Breast Cancer Bounty Bull.
King Buck was the Bootdaddy.com Breast Cancer Bounty Bull in Charlotte worth a $2,500 bonus to Byrne for the qualified ride and $2,500 to BCRF.
For more information on the PBR’s Pink Promise, visit www.pbr.com/PBRgoesPink.
Stormy Wing and Kaique Pacheco rounded out the Top 5 of the round, both notching 85.5 points on their bulls Casique (Gold Spur Ranch) and Cowboy Up (Broken Arrow S Ranch/Dallas Schott). They earned 15 world points.
Round 2 and the Built Ford Tough Championship Round of the Express Employment Professionals Invitational takes place Saturday, Sept. 19, at 7 p.m. ET. The Built Ford Tough Championship Round will be televised on CBS Television Network at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Sept. 20, while CBS Sports Network will broadcast Round 2 and the championship round on Sunday, at 8 p.m. ET.
Fans can also watch each round of competition live on PBR LIVE via CarbonTV.com. PBR LIVE is now available at no charge to all fans and media and can be found by visiting www.pbr.com/live.
Charlotte is the 24th stop on the 2015 Built Ford Tough Series. The season will culminate with the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals in Las Vegas on Oct. 21-25 at the Thomas & Mack Center when the 2015 PBR World Champion, the bull rider who earns the most points during the 2015 season, will receive the coveted World Championship belt buckle and a $1 million bonus. Tickets for the PBR World Finals are on sale now and can be purchased at unlvtickets.com.
The BFTS is televised every week on CBS, CBS Sports Network – the home of the PBR – and networks around the world. BFTS telecasts are produced for the PBR under a multi-year agreement with David Neal Productions, a Los Angeles-based production company led by 34-time Emmy® Award winner and Peabody Award winner David Neal, who serves as executive producer.
2015 Professional Bull Riders – Express Employment Professionals Invitational
Charlotte, N.C. – Time Warner Cable Arena
Event Leaders (Round 1-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Gage Gay, 88-88-100 Points.
2. Cooper Davis, 87-87-60 Points.
3. Tanner Byrne, 86.5-86.50-45 Points.
(tie). Rubens Barbosa, 86.5-86.50-45 Points.
5. Kaique Pacheco, 85.5-85.50-15 Points.
(tie). Stormy Wing, 85.5-85.50-15 Points.
7. J.W. Harris, 83.5-83.50
(tie). Renato Nunes, 83.5-83.50
(tie). Josh Faircloth, 83.5-83.50
10. Ryan Dirteater, 83-83
11. Tyler Harr, 82.75-82.75
12. Valdiron de Oliveira, 73.75-73.75
J.B. Mauney, 0-0
Joao Ricardo Vieira, 0-0
Matt Triplett, 0-0
Fabiano Vieira, 0-0
Nathan Schaper, 0-0
Stetson Lawrence, 0-0
Reese Cates, 0-0
Silvano Alves, 0-0
Cody Nance, 0-0
Mike Lee, 0-0
Shane Proctor, 0-0
Eduardo Aparecido, 0-0
Mason Lowe, 0-0
Ben Jones, 0-0
Robson Aragao, 0-0
Aaron Roy, 0-0
Kasey Hayes, 0-0
Chase Outlaw, 0-0
Brady Sims, 0-0
Robson Palermo, 0-0
Michael Lane, 0-0
Lachlan Richardson, 0-0
Dave Mason, 0-0
Neil Holmes, 0-0
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