Alvarez Wins Round 2 of World Finals with Career-First Qualified Ride on the Premier Series

By: Darci Miller

LAS VEGAS – At each PBR Global Cup, Team Mexico is always a fan favorite.

Though the Mexican delegation has the roars of the crowd behind them, no Mexican had qualified for the PBR World Finals since Juan Carlos Contreras in 2018.

When Alvaro Aguilar Alvarez touched down in Las Vegas, it was to compete at the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals last weekend.

The Lagos de Moreno, Mexico, native proceeded to earn the international wild card berth to the World Finals and came into T-Mobile Arena this week ranked No. 56 in the world standings and without a single Unleash The Beast qualified ride to his name in four prior attempts.

After Thursday night, however, all that’s changed.

Alvarez rode Detroit Lean for 92 points in Round 2, good for not just his first premier-series ride but also his first round win on the sports grandest stage.

 
“That’s the first time I’ve seen Detroit Lean all season long go to the left, but what a great time for Alvaro for him to do that because he made a really good ride on an outstanding bull,” two-time World Champion Justin McBride said on CBS Sports Network. “This is a fantastic ride he made here on Detroit Lean.”

Afterward, Alvarez also got to attend his first PBR press conference out on Toshiba Plaza.

“I was very honored to be here,” Alvarez said with the help of Val Jimenez translating. “I came here to do the Velocity Tour and qualified to be here. I’m very proud to represent my country, Mexico, here in the PBR Finals.”

The comments drew cheers from the crowd, understanding his native Spanish even before the translation.

Alvarez is no stranger to representing Mexico, having competed for his homeland at three Global Cups. He’s 1-for-9 bearing the red, white and green jersey, riding Harold’s Genuine Risk for 85.75 points in Sydney in 2019.

For his efforts in Round 2 in Las Vegas, Alvarez earned 89 world points and is now ranked No. 39 in the world standings.

“I didn’t have any idea about this bull, but I used the friendship that I made here with my friends, and they helped me choose this bull,” he said. “And of course, he was great.”

Alvarez had the first pick in the Round 3 draft and selected Theodore (7-1, UTB) after consulting with 10-time PBR World Finals qualifier Paulo Crimber. Round 3 will air Friday at 11 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.

“When I started this career, my dream was to come to Las Vegas,” Alvarez said with the help of Luis Blanco translating. “But it’s hard for us from Mexico to be here, but you have to go step by step to win your space. I feel happy to have done everything that I did and to qualify to this World Finals.”

RELATED: Alvarez proud to represent Mexico at PBR World Finals

Like many riders, Alvarez says he was inspired to become a bull rider by watching the movie 8 Seconds.

“Everybody has kind of the same story,” Alvarez said. “We lived in a ranch and animals at the house, so I think that’s how I started. I do not remember how old I was, but I was very little. I watched a lot of movies about bull riding.”

Alvarez is 12-for-35 this year at all levels of competition, and he won his first two PBR events this fall – Touring Pro Division events in Belton, Texas (Sept. 4) and Llano, Texas (Oct. 16).

This, however, is his first Montana Silversmiths buckle.

He hopes it’s not his last.

“I’m hoping that in the next round, I get another one so I can go home and make everybody at home happy,” Alvarez said.

PBR Unleash The Beast
PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast
T-Mobile Arena – Las Vegas, Nevada
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Round 5-Round 6-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Chase Dougherty, 88-89.25-0-0-0-0-177.25-74 Points.
(tie). Cody Teel, 85.5-91.75-0-0-0-0-177.25-73 Points.
(tie). Mason Taylor, 89.5-87.75-0-0-0-0-177.25-56 Points.
4. Jose Vitor Leme, 86.75-88-0-0-0-0-174.75-52 Points.
5. Alvaro Aguilar Alvarez, 0-92-0-0-0-0-92.00-89 Points.
6. Eli Vastbinder, 91-0-0-0-0-0-91.00-89 Points.
7. Cooper Davis, 90.75-0-0-0-0-0-90.75-49 Points.
8. Kaique Pacheco, 90.5-0-0-0-0-0-90.50-45 Points.
9. João Ricardo Vieira, 0-89.25-0-0-0-0-89.25-38 Points.
(tie). Dener Barbosa, 0-89.25-0-0-0-0-89.25-38 Points.
(tie). Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 0-89.25-0-0-0-0-89.25-38 Points.
12. Adriano Salgado, 0-89-0-0-0-0-89.00-28 Points.
13. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-88.25-0-0-0-0-88.25-24 Points.
14. Claudio Montanha Jr., 86.5-0-0-0-0-0-86.50-28 Points.
15. Silvano Alves, 0-85.75-0-0-0-0-85.75-13 Points.
16. Junior Patrik Souza, 84.75-0-0-0-0-0-84.75-20 Points.
17. Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 0-84.25-0-0-0-0-84.25-12 Points.
18. Manoelito de Souza Junior, 82-0-0-0-0-0-82.00-16 Points.
19. Boudreaux Campbell, 78.75-0-0-0-0-0-78.75-5 Points.
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Dalton Kasel, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Jesse Petri, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Marco Eguchi, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
João Henrique Lucas, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Paulo Ferreira Lima, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Jesus, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Daylon Swearingen, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Eduardo Aparecido, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Andrew Alvidrez, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Austin Richardson, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Cole Melancon, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Conner Halverson, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Cody Nance, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Thiago Salgado, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Fernando Henrique Novais, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Lane Nobles, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Grayson Cole, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Leonardo Lima, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00
Dalton Rudman, 0-0-0-0-0-0-0.00

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media

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