Lowe Takes Round 1 in Oklahoma City

OKLAHOMA CITY – The first night of the PBR’s (Professional Bull Riders) Express Employment Professionals Invitational was a display of pure bull power, with only nine riders successfully making the 8-second whistle. Young gun Mason Lowe managed to hang on in style on his way to the Round 1 victory Saturday night at Chesapeake Energy Arena.

Lowe rode Get Smoked (Jared Allen’s Pro Bull Team) for 87.5 points to secure the Round 1 victory and 100 points toward the world standings.

Built Ford Tough Series veteran Stormy Wing finished second on Saturday night. The Dalhart, Texas, cowboy covered Colorado Chrome (Owens/Wyatt) for 86.25 points. Wing picked up 60 world points and it was the second week in a row that he opened the event with a qualified ride.

Derek Kolbaba was not far behind, riding JJ (JK Elite/Young Bird/Cord McCoy) for 85.5 points to secure third place and 50 points toward the world standings.

Three-time World Champion Silvano Alves turned in an 85-point ride aboard Top Spot (L&E Bull Co/F-T Rodeo/T-V) to take fourth place and secure 40 world standings points.

Rubens Barbosa, last weekend’s winner in Chicago and current No. 2 ranked bull rider in the world, continued his hot streak in Oklahoma City as he covered Over The Top (Long Ranch) for 84.5 points. Barbosa has ridden the last five bulls he has faced heading into Championship Sunday.

Barbosa earned 30 world points and trails current world leader Jess Lockwood by 175 points after he was bucked off in Round 1.

The Top 35 bull riders in the world will return Sunday afternoon for the conclusion of the Express Employment Professionals Invitational. Each rider will face one more bull in Round 2 before the Top 15 move on to the Built Ford Tough Championship Round where the winner will be crowned.

CBS Sports Network will broadcast round 2 and the Championship Round at 8 p.m. ET. Fans can also watch each round in real time on PBR LIVE and the PBR LIVE app at 2:15 p.m. ET.

PBR Digital Editor Kristian Limas contributed to this report.

Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series
Express Employment Professionals Invitational
Chesapeake Energy Arena, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Mason Lowe, 87.5-0-0-87.50-100 Points.
2. Stormy Wing, 86.25-0-0-86.25-60 Points.
3. Derek Kolbaba, 85.5-0-0-85.50-50 Points.
4. Silvano Alves, 85-0-0-85.00-40 Points.
5. Rubens Barbosa, 84.5-0-0-84.50-30 Points.
6. Mike Lee, 84.25-0-0-84.25-15 Points.
7. Nathan Schaper, 81.25-0-0-81.25-5 Points.
8. Dener Barbosa, 80.75-0-0-80.75
9. Brady Sims, 70-0-0-70.00
Jess Lockwood, 0-0-0-0.00
Kaique Pacheco, 0-0-0-0.00
Ryan Dirteater, 0-0-0-0.00
Matt Triplett, 0-0-0-0.00
Eduardo Aparecido, 0-0-0-0.00
Cooper Davis, 0-0-0-0.00
Joao Ricardo Vieira, 0-0-0-0.00
Gage Gay, 0-0-0-0.00
Reese Cates, 0-0-0-0.00
Guilherme Marchi, 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Cardozo, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Heffernan, 0-0-0-0.00
Kurt Shephard, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Nance, 0-0-0-0.00
Nevada Newman, 0-0-0-0.00
Justin Paton, 0-0-0-0.00
Brant Atwood, 0-0-0-0.00
J.W. Harris, 0-0-0-0.00
Paulo Ferreira Lima, 0-0-0-0.00
Stetson Lawrence, 0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Buttar, 0-0-0-0.00
Emilio Resende, 0-0-0-0.00
Luis Blanco, 0-0-0-0.00
Shane Proctor, 0-0-0-0.00
Chase Outlaw, 0-0-0-0.00
Tyler Harr, 0-0-0-0.00
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0.00