SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – More than 18,000 fans attended the First PREMIER Bank PREMIER Bankcard Invitational event at Denny Sanford Center, Friday and Saturday, March 13-14, selling out both nights of competition. With such a successful Built Ford Tough Series (BFTS) event, PBR Chairman and CEO Jim Haworth announced in-arena Saturday night that the PBR will return to Sioux Falls, South Dakota, in 2016.
In front of a crowd of more than 9,500 fans on Saturday night, 2004 PBR World Champion Mike Lee took home his first win of the 2015 BFTS season.
“I was needing it, you know?” Lee explained about his win. “Things were getting tough. I wish I would’ve finished it off, but other than that it was great.”
Lee went 2-for-3 on the weekend, placing third in Round 1 for 30 event points, placing first in Round 2 for 100 event points and collecting 400 additional event points for placing first in the aggregate, for a total of 530 points towards the PBR world standings.
Coming in second was Friday night’s Round 1 winner J.W. Harris who earned a total of 395 event points, including 100 points from his round win, 55 points from tying for second place in Round 2 and picking up 240 points for his second-place finish in the aggregate.
Third place went to Joao Ricardo Vieira, who finished second in Round 1 for 60 event points and third overall in the aggregate for 180 event points for a total of 240 points towards the world standings.
Claudio Crisostomo and three-time PBR World Champion Silvano Alves rounded out the Top 5 on the event with 105 and 88.25 event points, respectively.
With a bull score of 45.50 out of 50 points, Boot Jack (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Julie Rosen) was named the Salem Nationalease High-marked Bull award in Sioux Falls.
For more information and behind-the-scenes details about the First PREMIER Bank PREMIER Bankcard Invitational, read Behind the Chutes by Justin Felisko on www.pbr.com.
The First PREMIER Bank PREMIER Bankcard Invitational was the 11th of 27 stops on the 2015 PBR Built Ford Tough Series schedule. The 19-state tour will culminate with the PBR Built Ford Tough World Finals in Las Vegas on Oct. 21-25 when the 2015 PBR World Champion, the bull rider who earns the most PBR world standings points during the 2015 season, will be crowned and receive the coveted $10,000 World Championship belt buckle and $1 million bonus.
Next on the 2015 BFTS is a stop in New Mexico at The Pit in Albuquerque on March 20-22 for the Ty Murray Invitational presented by Sandia Resort & Casino. The event takes place at 8 p.m. MT on Friday, March 20; 7:50 p.m. MT on Saturday, March 21; and 1:50 p.m. MT on Sunday, March 22. Round 3 and the Built Ford Tough Championship Round will be televised on CBS Sports Network at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Fans can also watch every ride each weekend live online at PBR.com/live.
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.
Professional Bull Riders – First PREMIER Bank PREMIER Bankcard Invitational
Sioux Falls, South Dakota – Denny Sanford PREMIER Center
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Mike Lee, 86-88.75-0-174.75-530 Points.
2. J.W. Harris, 87.25-86.5-0-173.75-395 Points.
3. Joao Ricardo Vieira, 87-85.25-0-172.25-240 Points.
4. Claudio Crisostomo, 82.75-82.5-0-165.25-105 Points.
5. Silvano Alves, 70.25-86-0-156.25-88.33 Points.
6. Ben Jones, 0-86.5-0-86.50-87.5 Points.
7. Cooper Davis, 86.5-0-0-86.50-82.5 Points.
8. L.J. Jenkins, 86.25-0-0-86.25-55 Points.
9. Valdiron de Oliveira, 0-86-0-86-33.33 Points.
(tie). Ryan Dirteater, 0-86-0-86-33.33 Points.
11. Matt Triplett, 84-0-0-84-10 Points.
(tie). Nathan Schaper, 0-83.25-0-83.25-10 Points.
(tie). Eduardo Aparecido, 81.5-0-0-81.50-10 Points.
(tie). Renato Nunes, 0-85-0-85-10 Points.
(tie). Stormy Wing, 85.25-0-0-85.25-10 Points.
Reese Cates, 0-0-0-0
Kaique Pacheco, 0-0-0-0
Fabiano Vieira, 0-0-0-0
Guilherme Marchi, 0-0-0-0
Cody Nance, 0-0-0-0
Stetson Lawrence, 0-0-0-0
Shane Proctor, 0-0-0-0
Tanner Byrne, 0-0-0-0
Bonner Bolton, 0-0-0-0
Kasey Hayes, 0-0-0-0
Dave Mason, 0-0-0-0
Brady Sims, 0-0-0-0
Sean Willingham, 0-0-0-0
Bryan Titman, 0-0-0-0
Douglas Duncan, 0-0-0-0
Alexandre Cardozo, 0-0-0-0
Lachlan Richardson, 0-0-0-0
Cody Tyler White, 0-0-0-0
Robson Aragao, 0-0-0-0
Aaron Roy, 0-0-0-0
Mason Lowe, 0-0-0-0
© 2015 PBR Inc. All rights reserved.