By the Numbers: Bulls Reclaim Dominance Despite Dias’ Spicy Start to the Season
By: James Youness
PUEBLO, Colo. – If the opening weekend of Unleash The Beast action belonged to the riders, teaming up to ride 42 bulls (the most in a premier series event since New York City in 2022), then event No. 2 has to be chalked up as a win for the bulls, who surrendered just 28 rides throughout three rounds of competition.
That is, unless your name is one Cassio Dias, who extended his tour-best ride streak to a perfect 6-for-6 en route to capturing his first premier series event buckle.
Producing one of just two conversions to meet the 90-point mark (joining Rafael dos Santos, who logged a 90-point out atop Rank Frank in Round 2), Dias reinforced the fact that he isn’t backing down from even the scariest of fire-breathing dragons.
With 11 bull scores coming in at 44 points or above, six more than that in Tucson (just five, total), several of the tour’s world title contenders were on full display inside Enterprise Center, including the new No. 1, Man Hater.
Producing the highest bull score of not only the event, but of the season, now just the second to meet the coveted 45-point mark on the year, the talented bovine reminded fans near and afar just how powerful these animal athletes are.
Of course the pack still produced several rank conversions throughout the event.
But in a world where two competitors enter any given matchup, and one weighs 1500 lbs. more than the other (give or take a few lbs. here or there), it’s no surprise the bovines evened the score in the Show Me State.
With Unleash The Beast set to invade Johnstown, Pennsylvania, this weekend for the third event of the 2024 season, we’re taking a quick look back at some of the numerical takeaways from PBR St. Louis in this week’s By the Numbers!
Top 8: Out of the many riders who spent the 2023 PBR Camping World Team Series with either the Kansas City Outlaws or Missouri Thunder, four of the event’s Top 8 were vacated by members from one of the two squads, including Cassio Dias (No. 1, Outlaws), Paulo Rosetto (No. 4, Thunder), Bob Mitchell (No. 5, Outlaws) and Joao Lucas Campos (No. 8, Thunder). Combining to produce nine of the two-day event’s 28 qualified rides, it’s safe to say they put on quite the show for their home state crowd. Highlighted by Dias’ event-best 90.5-point conversion atop Mike’s Motive, it’s becoming quite clear that Missouri continues to bring out the best of the pack, regardless of format!
Win No. 1: Watching history in real time is quite the treat. But with the amount of standout performances and talented riders seemingly coming out of nowhere, bull riding fans have almost been spoiled within the last year of competition. Seeing Cassio Dias continue to dominate in both 5-on-5 action and now within the individual Unleash The Beast, it was a bit of a surprise when CBS Sports Network’s Kate Harrison declared his win as the first in his premier series career. Extending his flawless start to the 2024 Unleash The Beast season with a 3-for-3, event-winning performance in St. Louis, he’s now 6-for-6 in his rookie campaign. Not only that, but he sits atop the UTB standings with a 60.5-point lead over No. 2 Caden Bunch, unable to keep the momentum going last weekend (0-for-2) after capturing the season-opening contest in Tucson, Arizona.
Four Years in the Making: The only other rider to stay perfect on the weekend? Alan de Souza, who was actually participating in his first UTB event in nearly four years, with his last premier series appearance occurring on Jan. 18, 2020, in Manchester, New Hampshire. Since successfully fending off budding superstar John Crimber and his next-level climb towards the top of the Challenger Series standings, Souza ended the 2023 Challenger Series Champion. Going 4-for-5 overall since, including a quality 85.75-point strike atop Sneaky Situation during the 2023 PBR Camping World Teams Championship in Las Vegas and his 3-for-3 performance in St. Louis, the 30-year-old cowboy suddenly finds himself ranked No. 7 overall in the UTB standings.
Looking for an Eighth: Sure, it was Dias who stole the show and now sits atop the premier series standings after earning his first UTB event buckle. But a quick glance at the Top 3 proves that seven-time PRCA champ Sage Steele Kimzey is here to ride. Tying Joao Ricardo Vieira for second-place honors during the season-opener in Tucson, Kimzey tied for sixth this past weekend to keep his hot streak alive. Extending his perfect streak to start the campaign to five, he nearly matched Dias’ six-straight mark in the short round, but was dispatched at the 6.21-second mark courtesy of his opponent Off Campus. Logging a pair of scores in the opening two rounds (86 points on Hillbilly Rock, 87 points on Skippy), he’s officially 5-for-6 in what’s technically his rookie season on the premier series tour.
46.5: Seeing the pack start the 2024 season off on a very spicy note, covering a combined 42 bulls, momentum may have shifted back toward the animal athletes in St. Louis. Getting just 28 ridden throughout three rounds, the bull power was noticeably higher in event No. 2. Seeing 2024 world title contender Man Hater (now ranked No. 1) produce the event’s highest bull score, courtesy of dispatching Dalton Kasel in a quick 2.08 seconds. Named the YETI Bull of the Event for his elite efforts, his 46.5-point bull score was the highest score of the event by 1.5 points, with Flyin Wired’s 45-point bull score the next-best (earned from sending Daylon Swearingen to the dirt in 3.85 seconds).
Two in One: It isn’t breaking news that the 2022 World Champion has been pretty banged up since capturing his world title inside Dickies Arena in May of 2022. But it IS a bit of a shocker to learn that Swearingen’s 2-for-3 performance at PBR St. Louis represents the talented rider’s first premier series event in which he logged two qualified rides since winning the whole thing a year and a half ago. Teaming up with Alphonse in Round 1 for a welcomed 84.75 points, he was officially on the board. Later besting Spooky for 86.75 points, he punched his ticket to the short round for the first time in a while, but was dispatched by a world-contending bull in his own right, (Flyin Wired) as mentioned above. Still able to log a ninth-place finish, he’s now 3-for-5 on the season, positioned No. 14 overall.
With the premier series set to buck into Johnstown, Pennsylvania, this weekend for three days of rank bull riding action, fans can tune into Ride Pass on Pluto TV on Friday, Dec. 8 (7:45 p.m. EST) and Saturday, Dec. 9 (6:45 p.m. EST) for Rounds 1 and 2, while Championship Sunday is set to air live on CBS Sports Network on Sunday, Dec. 10 beginning at 2 p.m. EST.
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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