Team Brazil Wins Sydney Leg of PBR Global Cup

By: Kacie Albert
June 10, 2018

SYDNEY, Australia – The second leg of the inaugural PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Global Cup in Sydney concluded in a dramatic fashion, coming down to the last out as Team Brazil clinched a narrow 0.75-point victory to claim the Australian horn of the Global Cup trophy filled with the host nation’s soil, and $400,000.

The green and gold teams battled until the final whistle of the global showdown. On the last out of the night, Team Australia’s top rider, Nathan Burtenshaw (Coonamble, New South Wales) needed a monster ride to overtake Brazil and keep his country’s soil. Burtenshaw made the whistle, and the faithful at Qudos Bank Arena erupted. But the clutch ride, scoring a strong 84.75 points, fell slightly short of winning the second leg of the five-nation tournament.

After starting the deciding night of competition 5.75 points in front of Team Australia, the seven-rider Brazilian team’s top 12 rides totalled 1006.5 at the end of the event, while host nation Australia’s added to 1005.75 points, and Team Canada’s 986.75 points.

Team USA finished fourth place 924 points after going 11-for-18, while Team Mexico retained its position from Day 1, rounding out the field with a collective 501.25 points.

The final night of competition saw a number of clutch performances from the world’s best bull riders, with a total of 28 qualified rides, 24 of which came in the opening round.

Team Brazil, which is dominating the PBR World standings with 7 of the Top 10 ranked riders, was led by current world No. 1 Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil), who made the 8 for 84.75 points on SweetPro’s Chemical Weapon(Mayne Bucking Bulls) in Round 2, before covering Rodeo Blues (Throsby & Russell Bucking Bulls) for 85 points in the decisive Bonus Round.

Collectively, Pacheco was a perfect 4-for-4 in Sydney, propelling him to the top of individual aggregate with 334 points, and netting him a $30,000 bonus in the process.

“I didn’t ride just for myself; I rode for my team,” Pacheco said. “They gave me the strength for what I did.”

Five riders on Team Brazil logged qualified rides in Sydney, including Luciano De Castro (Guzolandia, Brazil) who went a near-perfect 3-for-4 to contribute 249 points to the South American nation’s total.

Reigning Rookie of the Year Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil) was another key figure in Team Brazil’s victory, going 2-for-4 with identical 84-point rides across both nights.

Veteran rider Eduardo Aparecido (Gouvelandia, Brazil) also went 2-for-4, logging 167.25 points for Team Brazil.

Second place Team Australia was inspired by Burtenshaw, the nation’s top rider in the world standings at No. 25. Recovering from a broken collarbone, he was the only rider from the host nation to record three qualified rides throughout the two-night event, going 1-for-2 on Saturday and 2-for-2 on Sunday, including a critical 84.5 point score on SweetPro’s Enemies Everywhere (Throsby & Russell Bucking Bulls) in the final ride of the competition.

Burtenshaw finished with an individual aggregate score of 244.5, three spots in the ranks above Australian captain Cliff Richardson (Gresford, New South Wales), who notched an aggregate average of 169.75 from two qualified rides across both nights.

Richardson had previously scored Saturday’s highest-marked ride on Blossom (Brandenburg Bucking Bulls) for 87.25 points, before covering Stealth (George Hempenstall) in Sunday’s Round 2 for 82.5 points.

Current PBR Australia No.1 Aaron Kleier (Clermont, Queensland) also contributed a big score to Australia’s total on Sunday, making the 8 on Notorious (Brandenburg Bucking Bulls) during the night’s first round for 86.5 points. The critical effort nabbed Kleier the highest-scoring ride of the night and was key to keeping Team Australia in contention with Brazil.

The Australian team will split $75,000 for their performance at Qudos Bank Arena.

“The boys really pulled together,” said Team Australia coach Troy Dunn. “I am super proud of them. They couldn’t have tried any harder.”

Team Canada was led by 2015 PBR Canada Champion Tanner Byrne (Prince Albert, Saskatchewan), whose perfect 4-for-4 performance contributed a massive 331.5 to his nation’s total. Byrne also became the third rider in 23 outs to cover Light Em Up (Throsby & Russell Bucking Bulls) in Sunday’s Bonus Round for 86 points, the highest-scoring ride of the decisive final round.

Jared Parsonage (Maple Creek, Saskatchewan) also turned in an impressive performance in Sydney, going 3-for-3 to add 231.25 points to Team Canada’s total, while current PBR Canada No. 1 Brock Radford (De Winton, Alberta) also notched two qualified rides, worth 166 points.

Team USA, which captured the inaugural PBR Global Cup event title in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, last November, was led by team captain and 2016 PBR World Champion Cooper Davis (Buna, Texas), who sat atop the individual aggregate race after the first night.

The 23 year-old dropped to No.3 in the individual standings after being bucked off by SweetPro’s Palooka (Dittmann Bucking Bulls) at the 5.04-second mark in Sunday’s Bonus Round. Davis, however, still added 258 points to Team USA’s total via his 3-for-4 performance.

Davis will arguably be most remembered in Sydney for making the 8 on Un Broken (Brandenburg Bucking Bulls) during Saturday’s Bonus Round. The 86.5 point ride broke the bovine’s previous 14-out unridden streak.

Matt Triplett (Columbia Falls, Montana) made the second biggest contribution to Team USA’s total, logging two qualified rides over both nights of competition for 169.25 points. Triplett covered 5^th Battalion (Dunne Bulls) for 84 points on Saturday, before earning another 85.25 points aboard On Point (Throsby & Russell Bucking Bulls) during Sunday’s Round 2.

Team Mexico’s fifth place finish was underscored by a marked improvement during Sunday night’s finale. After scoring only two qualified rides during Saturday’s opener, the team added a healthy 332.75 points to its collective total on Sunday.

Team Mexico’s aggregate score was boosted by 28 year-old Jorge Valdiviezo (La Mision, Mexico), who went 2-for-2 over both nights to add 170.25 points to his nation’s total.

It was a statement performance from Valdivezo, who was unable to compete in the first leg of the Global Cup due to injury.

Sunday also saw 20 year-old young-gun Francisco Garcia Torres (Mission, Mexico) secure an 81.5-point ride on Domino Effect (Dunn Bulls), while Gustavo Pedrero made an 83-point contribution during Saturday’s Bonus Round.

“The best bull riders in the world, and the second leg of the PBR Global Cup it comes down to less than a single point,” said Sean Gleason, CEO, PBR. “It doesn’t get any better than this in our sport.”

The five-nation, team-style PBR Global Cup will announce its next three stops in the future.

2018 Professional Bull Riders Sydney Global Cup
Qudos Bank Arena – Sydney, Australia

1. Team Brazil, 1,006.5 points
2. Team Australia, 1,005.75 points
3. Team Canada, 986.75 points
4. Team USA, 924 points
5. Team Mexico, 501.25 points

2018 Professional Bull Riders Sydney Global Cup
Qudos Bank Arena – Sydney, Australia
(Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Individual Event Aggregate)

1. Kaique Pacheco, 81.25-83-84.75-85-334
2. Tanner Byrne, 79.50-83.5-82.5-86-331.5
3. Cooper Davis, 85-86.5-86.5-0-258
4. Luciano De Castro, 83.75-0-83.25-82-249
5. Nathan Burtenshaw, 78.25-0-81.5-84.75-244.5
6. Jared Parsonage, 68.5-82.25-80.5-0-231.25
7. Jorge Valdiviezo, 85.5-0-84.75-0-170.25
8. Cliff Richardson, 87.25-0-82.5-0-169.75
9. Matt Triplett, 84-0-85.25-0-169.25
10. Jose Vitor Leme, 84-0-84-0-168
11. Claudio Montanha Jr., 82.25-0-85.5-0-167.75
12. Eduardo Aparecido, 83-0-84.25-0-167.25
13. Brock Radford, 80-0-86-0-166
14. Brennon Eldred, 81-0-84.25-0-165.25
15. Aaron Kleier, 0-0-86.5-0-86.5
16T. Juan Carlos Contreras, 0-0-84.75-0-84.75
16T. Lachlan Richardson, 0-0-84.75-0-84.75
18. Fraser Babbington, 0-0-84.5-0-84.5
19T. Ramon de Lima, 83.75-0-0-0-83.75
19T. Justin Paton, 83.75-0-0-0-83.75
21T. Dakota Buttar, 0-0-83.5-0-83.5
21T. Stetson Lawrence, 83.5-0-0-0-83.5
23. Cody Heffernan, 0-0-83.25-0-83.25
24T. Gustavo Pedrero, 0-83-0-0-83
24T. Mitchel Paton, 83-0-0-0-83
26T. Jess Lockwood, 82.75-0-0-0-82.75
26T. Derek Kolbaba, 82.75-0-0-0-82.75
28. Cody Nance, 0-0-82.5-0-82.5
29. Zane Lambert, 82.25-0-0-0-82.25
30T. Jason Mara, 82-0-0-0-82
30T. Troy Wilkinson, 82-0-0-0-82
32T. Dener Barbosa, 81.75-0-0-0-81.75
32T. Alfonso Orozco, 0-0-81.75-0-81.75
34. Francisco Garcia Torres, 0-0-81.5-0-81.5
35T. Justin Lloyd, 0-0-81.25-0-81.25
35T. Ky Hamilton, 81.25-0-0-0-81.25
37T. Lonnie West, 79.5-0-0-0-79.5
37T. Bailey Woodard, 79.5-0-0-0-79.5
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Guilherme Marchi, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Edgar Durazo, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Wacey Finkbeiner, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Budd Williamson, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Ethan Watts, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Francisco Morales, 0-0-0-0-0.00
Alvaro Aguilar Alvarez, 0-0-0-0-0.00

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