Davis Dominates, Winning Round 1 of Unleash The Beast Event in Glendale
By: Mandi McCary
GLENDALE, Ariz. – The world’s No. 1 bull rider, Cooper Davis (Jasper, Texas), put up the night’s top ride and leads the pack going into Championship Sunday in Glendale, Arizona.
On Saturday night, the 2016 PBR World Champion earned his third round victory of the 2021 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Unleash The Beast (UTB) season by claiming the Round 1 win at the PBR Built FORD Tough Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires.
Fans inside Gila River Arena (at limited capacity to allow for social distancing) cheered the stone-faced Texan on as he fired from the chutes aboard Mr. Winston (Dakota Rodeo/ Chad Berger/ Clay Struve), receiving the night’s only 90-point ride score.
On the season, it was Davis’s third 90-point ride in his quest to win a second PBR World Championship.
“I’m excited just to show up every weekend, taking them jump for jump,” Davis said following his round victory. “I’ve never been this excited to ride bulls. I’m thankful for the opportunity and just having fun with it.”
The Round 1 win and 29 world points further secured his hold on the No. 1 spot in the world standings, leading No. 2 Cole Melancon (Paris, Texas) by 108.5 points. Melancon’s night did not go as planned in his journey to close the gap in the world standings, as he came down hard after a mere 1.39 seconds as Stinger (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve) flung him to the ground.
Prior to Davis’s electric ride, Brazilian rider Eduardo Aparecido (Gouvelandia, Brazil) delivered a crowd-pleasing 89.25-point ride aboard Trail of Tears (Dakota Rodeo/ Chad Berger/ Clay Struve/MAGA Cattle/ Roper Angus).
The veteran rider’s second-place finish earned him 18 world points to jump from No. 23 in the world standings to No. 19 as the night came to a close.
Ezekiel Mitchell (Rockdale, Texas), star of the new Snapchat docu-series “Life By The Horns,” finished third in Round 1 courtesy of his 89-point trip on Safety Meeting (Dakota Rodeo/ Chad Berger/ Clay Struve/Hruby/Kainz).
The Texas young gun collected 17 world points and is now ranked No. 26 in the world, rising from the No. 31 position at the start of the event.
Despite some setbacks early in the season and time off for a broken jaw, two-time PBR World Champion Jess Lockwood (Volborg, Montana), who was absolutely hammered last night by YETI bull of the event Marquis Metal Works Coriolis Effect (Marquis Metal Works) and riding with a heavily bandaged wrist and hand, did not back down on Saturday night as he rocketed from the chutes and stayed aboard Rising Sun (Dakota Rodeo/ Chad Berger/ Clay Struve/ Heald Pro Bulls). The 88.25-point score earned a fourth-place finish and moved Lockwood from his No. 40 spot in the world standings to No. 33.
Kyler Oliver (Roy, Utah) rounded out the Top 5 after riding Skeeter Peter (Dakota Rodeo/ Chad Berger/ Clay Struve) for 87.75 points in Round 1. Oliver’s successful ride earned the Utah cowboy 15 world points, moving him up one spot in the world standings from No. 21 to No. 20.
The PBR Built FORD Tough Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires will conclude on Sunday, March 14, starting at 1:45 p.m. MST, with Round 2 followed by the championship round. CBS Sports Network will carry the event at 10 p.m. EDT (check local listings).
Fans can relive all the action from Round 1 in Glendale starting on Sunday, March 14 at 8 a.m. EST on RidePass.com or via the RidePass mobile app.
PBR Unleash The Beast – PBR Glendale Invitational presented by Cooper Tires
Gila River Arena -Glendale, Arizona
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Cooper Davis, 90-0-0-90.00-29 Points.
2. Eduardo Aparecido, 89.25-0-0-89.25-18 Points.
3. Ezekiel Mitchell, 89-0-0-89.00-17 Points.
4. Jess Lockwood, 88.25-0-0-88.25-16 Points.
5. Kyler Oliver, 87.75-0-0-87.75-15 Points.
6. Colten Fritzlan, 87.5-0-0-87.50-14 Points.
7. Jesse Petri, 87-0-0-87.00-13 Points.
8. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 86.75-0-0-86.75-12 Points.
9. João Henrique Lucas, 86.5-0-0-86.50-11 Points.
10. Kaique Pacheco, 86-0-0-86.00-10 Points.
11. Junior Patrik Souza, 83.25-0-0-83.25-9 Points.
12. Wallace Vieira de Oliveira, 83-0-0-83.00-8 Points.
(tie). Cody Jesus, 83-0-0-83.00-8 Points.
Cole Melancon, 0-0-0-0.00
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0.00
Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 0-0-0-0.00
Dener Barbosa, 0-0-0-0.00
Taylor Toves, 0-0-0-0.00
Silvano Alves, 0-0-0-0.00
João Ricardo Vieira, 0-0-0-0.00
Marco Eguchi, 0-0-0-0.00
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0.00
Mason Taylor, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Teel, 0-0-0-0.00
Lucas Divino, 0-0-0-0.00
J.T. Moore, 0-0-0-0.00
Kyle Jones, 0-0-0-0.00
Rodrigo Melgar, 0-0-0-0.00
Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 0-0-0-0.00
Eli Vastbinder, 0-0-0-0.00
Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Nance, 0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Louis, 0-0-0-0.00
Luciano De Castro, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Casper, 0-0-0-0.00
Ramon de Lima, 0-0-0-0.00
Boudreaux Campbell, 0-0-0-0.00
Matt Triplett, 0-0-0-0.00
J.B. Mauney, 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Cardozo, 0-0-0-0.00
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