By the Numbers: Pack Continues to Surprise, Impress During Spicy Showdown in Tulsa

By: James Youness

PUEBLO, Colo. – Oh, what a night!

Well, what an event, really, as the best bull riders in the world put on quite for the show for sold out crowds in Tulsa, Oklahoma last weekend.

 
We’re talking one of the most electric events in more than 30 years of rank entertainment … (and yes, while it seems like the bar continues to be raised year after year, most recently championed by an intense weekend of postseason action inside T-Mobile Arena for the 2023 PBR Teams Championship a short three months ago, these guys really do continue to exceed expectations.)

From the return of “Mr. 90 Pointer” Dalton Kasel to seeing 39-year-old veteran Joao Ricardo Vieira tie Gary Richard in becoming the oldest rider to win a premier series event, attendees inside BOK Center were on their feet more often than in their seats as the electric entertainment seemed nonstop once Championship Saturday rolled around.

That’s no disrespect to Friday night’s opening round, either, which featured a quality 18 qualified rides and saw No. 2 Austin Richardson get an early boost on the event leaderboard, courtesy of his round-winning 89-point conversion atop Let’s Roll in Round 1.

But when tour personnel regathered inside the Arena for Round 2, it was a youngster by the name of Clay Guiton who nearly stole the show (if not for a miraculous, 91.75-point effort from Kasel) en route to earning some respect as a potential candidate to spice up the premier series’ already dazzling rookie class.

Bucking off in each of his first three outs on Unleash The Beast (two dating back to Chicago and the third coming in Tulsa’s opening round), the 18-year-old Cherryville, North Carolina, native wasn’t concerned about the bumpy start. He had his eyes on the prize and positioned himself to collect a very respectable check at weekend’s end with his Round 2 out.

Scored a career-high 90 points during his dance with Punchy Pete, it was enough to punch his ticket to his first-ever Unleash The Beast short round session. Knowing he had the willpower and strength to go head-to-head with some of the most talented bucking bulls in the world, having bested one just an hour prior, he elected for a Round 3 showdown against Bandito Bug.

 
And, well, quickly secured himself a Top 5 showcase in just his second career UTB event by one-upping his previous career-best score by .25 points.

Far from the only first-year to find success down south, John Crimber turned in his first 3-for-3 showcase at a UTB event while producing a career-best second-place finish as one of seven riders to meet the coveted 90-point mark in the short go.

Fellow rookie and reigning No. 1 Cassio Dias, who continued to extend his lead atop the Unleash The Beast World Championship standings, represented another of the tour’s hottest competitors to go for 90 Saturday night, scored 90.75 for his 8-second journey aboard Ridin’ Solo, already his fourth ride score of the young season to reach elite status.

But we didn’t travel down this recap road for a play-by-play. We’re here for the numbers.

And throughout one of the most explosive events in PBR history, there sure were a lot of numbers on the board in Tulsa. The real question remains:

Is there any way the pack can one-up said spicy performance this weekend in Houston?

With Unleash The Beast storming into its second of three eight-event segments, with show No. 9 primed to take over Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, Jan. 26-27, we’re taking a quick look back at some of the numerical takeaways from last weekend’s action inside BOK Center during this week’s By the Numbers!

91.5: After hearing all about the rising phenom, expected to quickly transition to one of the world’s top competitors, the bull riding industry watched on as John Crimber certainly took a step (ride?) in the right direction last weekend. Producing the best finish of his young career (which now includes just five UTB appearances since turning 18 during the summer of 2023), the 18-year-old’s runner-up finish garnered him a welcomed 84.5 UTB points and No. 13 overall rank. Which is huge for the youngster who entered the competition ranked No. 32 … and with the next week of premier series cuts coming this week, with the Top 33 riders scheduled to continue their time on the big stage, the productive outing couldn’t have come at a better time for Crimber. While his weekend didn’t start on the smoothest of notes, eventually settling for a 76.75-point score during a re-ride opportunity in Round 1, he declined the chance to endure a second re-ride showdown, opting to keep the score and increase his odds at appearing in the championship round. Later pairing up with Mikey’s Surprise in Round 2 for 85.5 points, his spot was secured, thus paving the way for the 18-year-old to team up with Chateau Montelena’s Montana Jacket.

 
Ripping off what will now always represent his first 90-point ride on the big boy tour, he went on to tie his overall career-high with an epic 91.5-point effort. Bringing the highest aggregate score into the final out of the evening, Crimber nearly captured his career-first UTB event buckle …

39 & Not Slowing Down: … If not for one Joao Ricardo Vieira, that is, who captured his first premier series title in nearly two years, as the veteran last took home event honors on March 27, 2022 during the PBR Ty Murray Invitational, presented By The Downs Racetrack And Casino. Just three months since capturing the 2023 PBR Teams Championship with the Texas Rattlers (where he went 4-for-5 en route to also being named the postseason MVP), the storied cowboy got back into the winner’s circle, collecting 141.5 UTB points and a nice check for $48,535 for his second flawless performance of the season. With initial conversions coming against Whiplash (86.75 points) and Bamboozle (87.75 points), JRV got in on the extraordinary short round fun in thrilling fashion.

 
Fueling his 2024 campaign status to the No. 5 rank while giving him a leg up in the race as the veteran continues to chase his first World Championship despite qualifying for the season-ending showcase 10 times, he sure seems to be on the right track for another productive season.

Round 1? 3-Straight!: Fans who have been watching on throughout the first third of the 2024 slate know that No. 2 Austin Richardson has been on fire so far this time around. Competing in seven events, the Dallas, Texas, native has managed to record Top 10 finishes in five of the seven, including third, ninth, first and first place results, most recently adding a 10th place finish in Tulsa to continue his near-tour-pacing start to the campaign.

 
Starting strong on Friday night, the 23-year-old actually exited BOK Center with the Round 1 win for the third-straight year since besting Woopaa for a career-high 94.5 points in 2022 and receiving a nice 89.75-point victory courtesy of a showdown with Huckleberry in 2023. This time scored 89 points, albeit during his lone conversion of the event, Richardson went the distance atop Let’s Roll to secure yet another encouraging performance. Unfortunately for Richardson, he watched on as No. 1 Cassio Dias finished sixth, thus extending his lead atop the standings by another 15 points (earning 45 UTB points to Richardson’s 30 Saturday night).

Everything 90: Robbed from his time in the spotlight similar to how Crimber was, rookie Clay Guiton nearly earned his career-first round win in just his second UTB appearance by wowing the crowd via a 90-point mark during his first conversion on the premier series. Bringing that same energy to his first-ever short round appearance, he quickly doubled down, this time turning in a new career-best of 90.25 points en route to becoming a perfect 1-for-1 in his lone short round opportunity. The cowboy who bested Guiton’s score in Round 2? Mr. 90 Pointer himself, Dalton Kasel, who resumed his typical form Saturday night with his own pair of elite marks.

 
After finishing second overall the prior weekend in Chicago, Kasel returned to the chutes with more fireworks in Tulsa. Stealing the Round 2 win during a dance with Doze You Down (scored an epic, and now season-high 91.75 points, for Kasel), he rocketed up the leaderboard while solidifying his spot in Round 3. Keeping the momentum flowing and advancing to a healthy 5-for-7 in his last two events, he nearly copy-pasted his heroics from the second round. As one of seven riders to go 90 or more in the round, Kasel posted a sick 91.5 point-effort challenged by UTZ BesTex Smokestack to tie JRV for the Round 3 victory. Taking home 68.5 UTB points for his second-consecutive Top 5 finish, Kasel will bring his No. 4 rank into Houston. After last weekend’s insane performances, Unleash The Beast has featured a combined 19 90-point rides.

46.25 points At the one-third point in the season, there are just two bulls averaging over a 45-point bull score: No. 3 Flyin Wired (45.25; five total qualifying outs) and No. 1 Man Hater (45.18; 15 total qualifying outs). It’s been the latter, however, who’s been the most dominant athlete on tour in 2024 (and that’s counting any of the 50+ riders and hundreds of bovines who have taken the chutes so far).

 
Most recently dispatching Brady Fielder in a brief 4.63 seconds during the championship go, he produced yet another top-tier score, logging an event-best 46.25-point bull score, 1.5 more points than the next-best outs all weekend (a four-way tie between Big Chili, Hell Right, Ridin’ Solo and Flyin Wired). Bringing home his fifth YETI Bull of the Event title in his fifth UTB appearance of the season (yes, you read that correctly: he’s 5-for-5 in defending his growing reputation as the best in the business), there’s no telling just how historic of a campaign the talented animal athlete is assembling. All we can do is sit back and watch!

 
Photo courtesy of Josh Homer/Bull Stock Media

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