2024 Unleash The Beast Game Notes: Jacksonville
By: Andrew Hatfield
Jacksonville, here we come! With the 13th showdown of the season invading VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena Feb. 23-24 for two nights of electric bull riding entertainment, PBR.com is taking a closer look at the rankest rides, biggest stories and beyond ahead of the U.S. Border Patrol PBR Jacksonville:
DIAS ENDS MAN HATER’S STREAK IN MONSTROUS FASHION: No. 1 Cassio Dias continued his Hollywood-worthy season in La-La land last weekend, going 2-for-3 to win his fourth event of the season and extend his lead over No. 2 Austin Richardson. The rising superstar topped Hell Storm for 87.25 points in Round 1, the second-best score of the evening, but was dispatched by Ghost Face in 3.04 seconds in Round 2 on Saturday. Knowing he most likely needed a monstrous score to take over the No. 1 spot, Dias showed no fear and selected the 2024 YETI PBR World Champion Bull frontrunner, Man Hater, who hadn’t been covered before. The dynamic duo burst out of the gate in the championship round in front of a roaring Crypto.com Arena, posting a mind-boggling, 94.75-point score, the highest-marked ride since Jose Vitor Leme topped Ridin’ Solo for 94.75 points in Oklahoma City in February of 2022 and the highest ride in PBR history in California. A Top-50 ride in premier series history, Dias put a stamp on his season that seems destined to end with a gold buckle
DON’T GET IT TWISTED: Dana White’s Twisted Steel looms in the pen in Jacksonville for the first time since dispatching Eli Vastbinder in 3.00 seconds in Houston, Texas, in January. The powerful bovine competitor has allowed just one ride in his nine premier series outs (88.9% buckoff percentage) dating back to the beginning of the 2023 PBR Teams season and has bucked off all three riders who have faced him during the 2024 Unleash The Beast campaign. Last month in Tulsa, Twisted Steel shed Vitor Losnake in two seconds flat, the second straight out he bested the Brazilian cowboy. Set to buck in Round 2, the rank animal athlete looks unstoppable leading into his celebrity showdown with UFC Hall of Famer, Donald “Cowboy” Cerrone.
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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