By the Numbers: Unleash The Beast Contenders Set for 2023 World Finals
By: James Youness
PUEBLO, Colo. – Coming out of one of the busiest weekends of the year, seeing both the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour and Unleash The Beast conclude regular-season action with each of their final respective competitions, the countdown to this month’s 2023 PBR World Finals in Fort Worth, Texas, is officially on.
With events set to take place inside Dickies Arena and Cowtown Coliseum May 12-21 and tons of extra-curriculars sprawling throughout the ever-growing Fort Worth Stockyards (and pretty much everywhere else within the greater Dallas-Fort Worth area), spectators will have the opportunity to take in eight rounds of elite bull riding action amidst an endless lineup of musical entertainers, bullfighting talent and beyond as PBR celebrates its 30th anniversary May 12-21.
As the action-packed schedule of entertainment, bull riding and everything cowboy is set to takeover Fort Worth next week, all we need to know is WHO WILL BE COMPETING?!
In short, we now know 35 of the 40 riders set to compete, as PBR released the official qualifiers list Tuesday morning.
Comprised of 35 of the top-ranked Unleash The Beast riders who are healthy enough to give it a go, the pack and fans alike will now await the final five qualifiers, which will stem from this weekend’s Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals in Corpus Christi May 5-6.
Five riders from the Velocity Tour will receive an invitation to compete in the 2023 PBR World Finals following the conclusion of the 2023 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals, as follows:
(1.) The highest placing rider from the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals event who hasn’t already qualified for the 2023 PBR World Finals
(2.) The highest-finishing International Invite in the PWVT Finals. If no International Invite places in the PWVT Finals Event, the invite to the World Finals will go to the highest ranked of those international riders in the Velocity Global Standings as of the conclusion of the PWVT Finals event. If no international riders are competing in the PWVT Finals, the invite will be eliminated, and the 36th position will be awarded to the 36th highest eligible contestant in the UTB Standings
(3-5.) The three highest ranked riders in the year end 2023 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Standings at the conclusion of the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals not already qualified for the 2023 PBR World Finals
With 10 of the 35 established riders designated as first-time World Finals qualifiers, including Rafael Jose de Brito, Daniel Keeping, Tate Pollmeier, Wingson Henrique da Silva, Braidy Randolph, Guilherme Valleiras, Koltin Hevalow, Wyatt Rogers, Brady Turgeon and Flavio Zivieri, and a few potential additional newcomers hailing from the PWVT, next week’s competition will be littered with new faces as each of the talented cowboys look to make a name for themselves on the biggest stage in bull riding.
As this weekend’s PWVT Finals are set to invade Corpus Christi’s American Bank Center May 5-6, PBR.com is taking a look at some of the statistical stories and numerical takeaways from last weekend’s UTB finale in Louisville, Kentucky!
3-for-3: Dener Barbosa secured his first premier series victory of the season on Sunday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky, as the only rider to post a perfect 3-for-3 slate at the PBR Cooper Tires Invitational, presented by Kubota. It’s been a good year for Barbosa, all things considered. Since posting the highest-scored ride of his career just over a month ago, when he teamed up with UTZ BesTex Smokestack for an outstanding 92-point score en route to capturing the PBR Ty Murray Invitational, presented by The Downs Racetrack & Casino 15/15 Bucking Battle win, he managed to wrangle another 90-point ride on Sunday afternoon. Paired with Blue Duck in the championship round, Barbosa was scored 90.25 points for his electric ride, which represents the talented Brazilian’s second-best score of his season and third to reach the 90-point mark. The third, and technically his first of the year, came March 4 in Little Rock Arkansas, when he faced off with a familiar foe in I’m Legit Too.
80%: As part of the 28-year-old’s flawless showcase, which helped him advance to the No. 5 rank via securing 80 UTB points for the win, Barbosa found himself matched with I’m Legit Too during Saturday night’s opening round. Having bested the bovine in three of the pair’s four all-time matchups, resulting in high-end results, including 87 points (Nov. 10, 2018), 90 points (March 4, 2023) and 90.5 points (Jan. 30, 2021), Barbosa went on to log a Round 1-winning 89.5 points while extending his career record against the Hart Cattle Co./Hale animal athlete to 4-for-5 (80%). Eventually following the qualified ride up in Round 2 with an 85.75-point effort atop Crunch Time, Barbosa finished the perfect performance with a 90.25-point championship round conversion aboard Blue Duck. Now just 354.17 points behind No. 1 Kaique Pacheco heading into World Finals May 12-21 in Fort Worth, Texas, he’ll add some additional pressure to No. 2 Jose Vitor Leme and the rest of the pack looking to surpass the 2018 World Champion in the UTB standings next week during the premier series finale.
Pair of 90s: After missing a month and a half of time away from the circuit while recovering from an injury sustained mid-March in New Orleans, Louisiana, two-time World Champion Jose Vitor Leme casually stormed back into competition this past weekend by posting a pair of 90-point rides. Despite being dispatched by his Round 1 opponent Hostage in a quick 1.24 seconds, he returned to elite form in the second round by posting a round-winning 90-point effort atop Wild Card. Not bad for a guy who hadn’t rode a bull in nearly 50 days! Later selecting a short round matchup with Ivy League, the 26-year-old went on to record an event-best 91-point masterpiece en route to securing a second-place finish in his return. With three events wins and four 90-point markings on his resume this season, including the two from Louisville combined with 92 points against Cliff Hanger (Jan. 8) and 90.5 points atop Homegrown (Jan. 22), he’s negated Pacheo’s lead to a mere 74 UTB points atop the premier series standings after taking home a welcomed 108 UTB points Sunday for his second-place effort. After finishing within the Top 3 in his last three events in which he’s been able to compete (Sunday’s silver placement plus two third-place results in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and New Orleans), he’ll look to stay hot next weekend as one of the stars projected to headline the electric slate during the 2023 World Finals.
86.25: Also returning from some time away due to injury, No. 3 Dalton Kasel got back in the ride column Sunday afternoon. After being dispatched from Crunch Time in Round, Kasel was able to convert in the second round, courtesy of his matchup against Try Me. Seemingly in control the entire way, Kasel met the requisite 8 for 86.25 points en route to qualifying for his first short round since the PBR Union Home Mortgage Invitational March 18 in New Orleans. While he was only able to go 1-for-3 on the weekend, eventually bucking off Preachers Kid in 2.98 seconds, he still brought home 18.5 UTB points and successfully logged another Top 10 appearance with his ninth-place finish, his 12th Top 10 in 21 events this season. Now just 231.34 points back of No. 1 Pacheco in the premier series standings, Kasel will look to rest up this weekend before attempting to claim his first gold buckle beginning May 12 in Fort Worth. Ending the season with a tour-best five 90-point rides, Mr. 90 Points is more than primed to make a run.
No. 3 in the world: On a weekend which saw just one out reach the coveted 45-point bull score mark, it was No. 3 UTZ BesTex Legend who earned the score while matched up with Rookie Brady Turgeon in Sunday’s championship round. Rocketing out of the chutes and instantly ditching the first-year competitor in a brief 2.9 seconds, the talented bovine took home Bull of the Event honors en route to qualifying for his first trip to World Finals. Surrendering just two rides throughout the 2023 UTB campaign, including a 90.5-point out to Dalton Kasel in Manchester, New Hampshire, and an 89-point ride to Sandro Batista in Little Rock, Arkansas, he will bring a respectful 11-for-13 record (84.7%) amidst a six-out buckoff streak into the year-end finale. With only No. 1 Cool Whip and No. 2 (2021 YETI World Champion Bull) Ridin’ Solo ranked higher, fans can keep an eye out for the talented bovine to make a lasting impression next weekend.
2023 First Timers: With nearly 1,300 points available for any given rider at World Finals, the 2023 Rookie of the Year race is far from over. Put No. 9 overall Rafael Jose de Brito, No. 10 Daniel Keeping and No. 12 Tate Pollmeier all within 165.75 points of each other and all of a sudden two round wins next week could go a long way for any of the top-ranked first-year riders. Also within striking distance, No. 14 Wingson Henrique da Silva and No. 20 Thiago Salgado round out rookie riders to finish within the tour’s Top 20 despite this being their first trip around the premier series tour. While Brito (Eugene, Oregon) and Keeping (Minneapolis, Minnesota and Indianapolis, Indiana) have both captured event wins during their inaugural seasons to help fuel their respective advantages, it may be Pollmeier who’s coming into World Finals the hottest after placing within the Top 10 in three of the last five events of the season, including a seventh-place finish in Tacoma, Washington, a fifth-place result two days prior in Everett, Washington, and a career-best runner-up effort April 7 in Nampa, Idaho. With eventual event-winner Ramon de Lima going on to log a 61.25-point ride as the only rider to convert in the championship round, Pollmeier was one ride away from capturing his first event win, something he’ll hope to keep in the realm of possibility in Fort Worth May 12-21.
With the 2023 Unleash The Beast regular season slate of action officially in the books, the world’s best bull riders will enjoy a week of rest before heading south to Fort Worth for Weekend One of the World Finals. That is, unless they’re still chasing a berth to the finale via a favorable finish at this weekend’s Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals in Corpus Christie, Texas, May 5-6. Round 1 is set to begin at 7:30 p.m. CST on Friday, May 5 and will be broadcast live on RidePass on Pluto TV, while the tour will conclude by crowning the PWVT Champion on Saturday, May 6 beginning at 7:30 p.m. CST. Day two coverage will also air live on RidePass on Pluto TV.
Fans can stay tuned to PBR.com and PBR social media channels throughout the weekend for the latest scores, updates, wrecks and beyond as the 2023 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour comes to a conclusion!
Photo courtesy of Andy Waton/Bull Stock Media
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