By the Numbers: A Look at Each of the Title Races at the End of the First Half

By: Justin Felisko

LAS VEGAS – The first half of the 2021 Unleash The Beast series is officially in the books, and the World Championship race is far from decided, with the 2021 PBR World Finals less than five months away.

Not only is the World Championship race on the rider side looking fierce, but so too is the YETI World Champion Bull race and the battle for the 2021 Rookie of the Year award.

This past weekend’s PBR Las Vegas Invitational was a great appetizer for what fans can expect to see back on the Strip when the 2021 PBR World Finals gets underway on Nov. 3-7 at T-Mobile Arena. Single-day World Finals tickets are now on sale for PBR Rewards members.

Let’s take a look at how the title races have shaped up so far since the PBR began its 28th season in Ocala, Florida.

LEME TAKES SLIM 18.5-POINT LEAD INTO SUMMER RUN

Reigning World Champion Jose Vitor Leme is attempting to become only the second rider in PBR history to win back-to-back world titles. Leme has not had any championship hangover from last year and is off to a record pace for 90-point rides (12) this season despite missing four events because of a broken ankle and broken ribs.

Leme regained the world No. 1 ranking for the second time this season in Vegas with a 2-for-3, fourth-place finish to jump ahead of 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco by 18.5 points with the Unleash The Beast now on a six-week break.

The UTB resumes on July 26-27 with Last Cowboy Standing at Cheyenne Frontier Days.

2021 World Standings Top 5

1. Jose Vitor Leme (1,050.5)
2. Kaique Pacheco (-18.5 points)
3. Cooper Davis (-204.5 points)
4. Dener Barbosa (-323.17 points)
5. Joao Ricardo Vieira (-343.5 points)

While the points system is a little bit different this season compared to one year ago (primarily, there have been no PBR Majors in 2021, and riders receive select bonus world points for qualified rides), there is no debating that the 2021 world title race is much closer heading into the summer break than it was a year ago.

 
Here is how the Top 5 looked last year heading into the summer break
1. Jose Vitor Leme (778.50 points)
2. Jess Lockwood (-235 points)
3. Joao Ricardo Vieira (-256.25 points)
4. Daylon Swearingen (-346.34 points)
5. Kaique Pacheco (-434 points)

Leme took a 235-point lead into the summer break last season, and he would not let go of the No. 1 ranking for the remainder of the season.

The 24-year-old will certainly have his work cut out for him if he wants to pull away from the field during the second half and win a second consecutive world title. Last season, No. 2 Jess Lockwood was recovering from a left hamstring injury, and No. 3/5 riders Joao Ricardo Vieira and Kaique Pacheco returned to Brazil amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, each not returning until August.

WOOPAA HEADS INTO SUMMER AS LEADING CONTENDER FOR YETI WORLD CHAMPION BULL TITLE

The sample size may be slightly smaller than that of the other World Champion Bull contenders, but Woopaa heads into the summer months as the favorite to win this year’s YETI World Champion Bull title.

Woopaa sits atop the bull standings with an impressive 46.45-point average score on five outs.

The 2020 ABBI Classic champion still needs three more outs to officially qualify for the World Championship, but he will have plenty of time to do that in the second half.

The 2021 YETI World Champion Bull will be the animal with the highest average bull score from their top eight regular-season outs and two outs at the PBR World Finals.

Woopaa last bucked on May 1 when he took care of Cody Nance in 3.88 seconds for a 46-point bull score.

2021 World Champion Bull Standings Top 5

1. Woopaa (46.45 points on five outs)
T2. Marquis Metal Works Red Clark (45.53 points on eight best outs)
T2. Ridin Solo (45.53 points on eight best outs)
4. Marquis Metal Works Coriolis Effect (45.38 points on eight best outs)
5. The Right Stuff (45.31 points on eight best outs)

 
Two-time World Champion Smooth Operator won the 2020 title with a World Champion average (a bull’s best eight outs) of 46.13 points.

Meanwhile, Woopaa’s biggest challenger in last year’s ABBI Classic race, Ridin Solo, is right on his heels in the world standings. Ridin Solo is tied with Marquis Metal Works Red Clark in the No. 2 hole with a 45.53-point World Champion Bull average.

Jeremy Walker and Paradigm Bull Company have pushed Red Clark and Coriolis Effect into the world title race with impressive first-half performances after the bulls began the season in January not necessarily in the title conversation.

No. 5 The Right Stuff also remains in the hunt and has already bucked 14 times this season. The Right Stuff and Leme will face off in a $10,000 matchup in Bismarck, North Dakota, this weekend at Chad Berger’s Dakota Community Bank & Trust PBR Bull Riding Challenge. Fans can watch all the action from Bismarck on Friday and Saturday night on RidePass.

FRITZLAN LEADING TIGHT ROOKIE OF THE YEAR RACE

Colten Fritzlan has been out since he dislocated his left shoulder on May 19 in the practice pen. Before that, he missed the Omaha, Nebraska, event at the beginning of May with a groin injury.

The No. 2-ranked rider in the PRCA bull riding standings has been atop the PBR Rookie of the Year standings ever since he won his debut event in Okeechobee, Florida.

Fritzlan, though, has seen his lead continue to dwindle in recent weeks as he sits on the sidelines rehabbing his shoulder injury.

 
2018 National Finals Rodeo bull riding event average winner Chase Dougherty has cut Fritzlan’s lead to 90 points as the two rodeo pros seem poised to be the 2021 PBR Rookie of the Year favorites.

However, Austin Richardson showed this weekend in Las Vegas that he may be ready to throw his hat into the ring as well. Richardson went 2-for-3 for a career-best, third-place finish and was in a position to win his first career event until I’m Legit Too bucked him off in 5.71 seconds.

2021 Rookie of the Year Race Top 5

1. Colten Fritzlan (339.5 points)
2. Chase Dougherty (-90 points)
3. Jesse Petri (-133.17 points)
4. Austin Richardson (-163 points)
5. Marcelo Procopio Pereira (-190.5)

In fact, all eight rookies are separated by less than 247 points in the world standings.

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko

Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media

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