Vieira Wins Round 1 in Anaheim

ANAHEIM, Calif. – On a special night for Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil), the veteran Brazilian threw down and won his first Built Ford Tough Series round of 2017 at the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Frontier Communications Showdown, presented by Ariat, Friday night at Honda Center.

Vieira secured the first place finish in Round 1 after an 87.75-point ride on More Big Bucks (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve). The ride was the highest score of his season so far and earned him 100 points toward the world standings and $3,580. Vieira dedicated the win to his father back home in Brazil who was celebrating his birthday Friday night.

2016 PBR World Champion Cooper Davis (Jasper, Texas) continued his resurgence Friday night as he tied for second place in Round 1 with J.W. Harris (Mullin, Texas). Davis rode One Time Joe (Triplett Bucking Bulls) for 87.25 points and is now 4-for-6 since last weekend in Sacramento, California. Harris turned in a matching 87.25-point ride on Thunderstruck (Dakota Rode/Chad Berger/J.R. Scott), it was Harris’ first ride since Round 3 of the season-opener in New York last month.

The pair both earned 55 points toward the world standings and $2,375 each for the finish.

Shane Proctor (Grand Coulee, Washington) and Marco Eguchi (Poa Sao Paulo, Brazil) tied for fourth place Friday night after matching 86.75-point rides. Proctor covered American Hustle (D&H Cattle Co. /Leflore) while Eguchi reached 8 seconds aboard Shake it (D&H Cattle Company). The pair both earned 35 points toward the world standings and $1,075.

Guilherme Marchi (Itupeva, Brazil) finished sixth and continued his march toward 600 rides when he rode GAH’s Lil Man (JD Nix Rodeo Co.) for 85.75 points. The ride was Marchi’s 587^th of his BFTS career and leaves him 13 rides away from becoming the first rider to record 600 qualified rides on the PBR’s top-flight tour. For his effort, Marchi picked up 15 world points and $600.

The Top 35 bull riders in the world will return to Honda Center one more time for Championship Saturday. 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.

The action starts on PBR LIVE at 9:15 p.m. ET. CBS Sports Network will also broadcast Round 2 and the championship round starting at 10 p.m. ET. On Sunday Feb. 5, CBS will broadcast the championship action starting at 12 p.m. ET.

Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series
Frontier Communications Showdown
Honda Center, Anaheim, California
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Joao Ricardo Vieira, 87.75-0-0-87.75-100 Points.
2. Cooper Davis, 87.25-0-0-87.25-55 Points.
(tie). J.W. Harris, 87.25-0-0-87.25-55 Points.
4. Marco Antonio Eguchi, 86.75-0-0-86.75-35 Points.
(tie). Shane Proctor, 86.75-0-0-86.75-35 Points.
6. Guilherme Marchi, 85.75-0-0-85.75-15 Points.
7. J.B. Mauney, 85-0-0-85.00-5 Points.
8. Silvano Alves, 84-0-0-84.00
9. Mike Lee, 83.25-0-0-83.25
(tie). Mason Lowe, 83.25-0-0-83.25
11. Dener Barbosa, 80.75-0-0-80.75
12. Gage Gay, 77.75-0-0-77.75
Jess Lockwood, 0-0-0-0.00
Rubens Barbosa, 0-0-0-0.00
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0.00
Kaique Pacheco, 0-0-0-0.00
Eduardo Aparecido, 0-0-0-0.00
Ryan Dirteater, 0-0-0-0.00
Chase Outlaw, 0-0-0-0.00
Matt Triplett, 0-0-0-0.00
Fabiano Vieira, 0-0-0-0.00
Brady Sims, 0-0-0-0.00
Stormy Wing, 0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Buttar, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Nance, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Heffernan, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Campbell, 0-0-0-0.00
Luis Blanco, 0-0-0-0.00
Stetson Lawrence, 0-0-0-0.00
Justin Paton, 0-0-0-0.00
Nathan Schaper, 0-0-0-0.00
Fraser Babbington, 0-0-0-0.00
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0.00
Paulo Ferreira Lima, 0-0-0-0.00
Tyler Harr, 0-0-0-0.00
Robson Palermo, 0-0-0-0.00