Leme Bounces Back, Splits Round 1 Win With Eldred in Salt Lake City

By: Easton Colvin

SALT LAKE CITY – As PBR (Professional Bull Riders) bucked on in the second half of the 2020 Unleash The Beast tour season, Days of ’47 Arena and the Rocky Mountains played as the backdrop of world No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme’s (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil) bounce-back in Round 1 of the 2020 TicketSmarter Invitational, after a disappointing outing last weekend.

In front of an enthusiastic socially distanced crowd on the grounds of Utah’s state fair, Leme rode into the night, delivering a tie for the highest marked ride of the evening in the last out of the night. The Brazilian phenom bested War Party (Diamond G Rodeos, Inc.) for 88.25 points, earning him $2,618.47 and 15 world points.

The split round win increased Leme’s lead over world No. 2 Joao Ricard Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil) to 262.25 points.

Oklahoman Brennon Eldred (Sulphur, Oklahoma) was the other rider marked 88.25 points on the night. Eldred put his spurs to work and showed the finesse as he matched Special Effects (Bierema Rodeo Inc.) move for move out of the chutes.

The three-time PBR World Finals qualifier lays his head down with an extra $2,618.47 in the bank and earned 15 world points, moving him to No. 29 in the world standings.

 
2019 rookie sensation and PBR Canada Champion Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York) sat tied for third place when the haze cleared from inside the arena. Only .25 points behind the two-way tie for first, the New Yorker took care of Wooden Nickels (Bierema Rodeo Inc.) for his 88-point ride.

The third-place finish in Round 1 earned Swearingen $1,315.08 and 8.5 world points, holding him in the No. 5 spot in the world, just 11.34 points behind No. 4 Colten Jesse (Konowa, Oklahoma).

 
Matt Triplett (Canton, South Dakota) represented the other half of the tie for third. The veteran Triplett burst out of the chutes aboard Tailgate Party (Garcia Ranches/Cottonwood Bucking Bulls), putting in work on the way to his 88-point ride.

Along with Swearingen, Triplett takes home $1,315.08 and 8.5 world points after night one. The points were enough to keep Triplett in at No. 14 in the world, ahead of the hot Ezekiel Mitchell (Rockdale, Texas), who finished sixth in Round 1.

Utah’s own Keyshawn Whitehorse (McCracken Springs, Utah) put his name on the leaderboard midway through the first round. Riding Wrangler National Finals Rodeo bull Mortimer (Julio Moreno/Dallas Schott) for 87.25 points, the Navajo man wound up in fifth place.

Still within striking distance of the event leaders heading into championship Saturday, Whitehorse earned $703.22 and seven more world points. The two-time PBR Global Cup rider inched closer to a permanent spot on the Unleash The Beast (UTB) tour, sitting at No. 44 in the world.

 
Round 2 of the 2020 TicketSmarter Invitational will begin tomorrow, August 22 at 6:45 p.m. MT, and will be broadcast live on CBS Sports Network. The Championship Round will be aired on CBS Sports Sunday, August 23 at 1 p.m. ET.

Fans can revisit each out from Round 1 of the 2020 TicketSmarter Invitational on Saturday, August 22 at 8 a.m. ET on RidePass.com of via the RidePass mobile app.

Professional Bull Riders – PBR TicketSmarter INVITATIONAL PRESENTED BY COOPER TIRES
Salt Lake City, UT, 2020 – Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Jose Vitor Leme, 88.25-0-0-88.25-15 Points.
(tie). Brennon Eldred, 88.25-0-0-88.25-15 Points.
3. Daylon Swearingen, 88-0-0-88.00-8.5 Points.
(tie). Matt Triplett, 88-0-0-88.00-8.5 Points.
5. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 87.25-0-0-87.25-7 Points.
6. Ezekiel Mitchell, 87-0-0-87.00-6 Points.
7. Dakota Louis, 86.25-0-0-86.25-5 Points.
8. Derek Kolbaba, 85-0-0-85.00-4 Points.
9. Kyle Jones, 84.25-0-0-84.25-3 Points.
10. Stetson Lawrence, 83.5-0-0-83.50-2 Points.
11. Junio Patrik Souza, 82.5-0-0-82.50-1 Points.
João Ricardo Vieira, 0-0-0-0.00
Kaique Pacheco, 0-0-0-0.00
Lucas Divino, 0-0-0-0.00
Cole Melancon, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Teel, 0-0-0-0.00
Mason Taylor, 0-0-0-0.00
Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0-0.00
Cooper Davis, 0-0-0-0.00
Joao Henrique Lucas, 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Cerqueira, 0-0-0-0.00
Andrew Alvidrez, 0-0-0-0.00
Amadeu Campos Silva, 0-0-0-0.00
Silvano Alves, 0-0-0-0.00
Taylor Toves, 0-0-0-0.00
Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Casper, 0-0-0-0.00
Paulo Ferreira Lima, 0-0-0-0.00
Marcus Mast, 0-0-0-0.00
Jake Lockwood, 0-0-0-0.00
Cannon Cravens, 0-0-0-0.00
Keith Hall, 0-0-0-0.00
Devon Weaver, 0-0-0-0.00
Grayson Cole, 0-0-0-0.00
J.B. Mauney, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Nance, 0-0-0-0.00

2020 Professional Bull Riders Unleash The Beast World Standings
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5’s, Points, Total Winnings)

1. Jose Vitor Leme, 34, 13, 21, 886.50, $399,827.48
2. João Ricardo Vieira, 20, 2, 8, 624.25, $211,055.98
3. Jess Lockwood, 14, 1, 9, 543.50, $210,144.99
4. Colten Jesse, 34, 4, 12, 469.00, $122,236.71
5. Daylon Swearingen, 33, 4, 11, 457.66, $209,893.97
6. Kaique Pacheco, 20, 1, 6, 444.50, $112,884.63
7. Lucas Divino, 23, 2, 8, 384.50, $112,683.71
8. Dener Barbosa, 15, 2, 7, 323.41, $81,057.49
9. Cole Melancon, 27, 2, 6, 282.50, $211,108.10
10. Fabiano Vieira, 23, 3, 6, 258.50, $48,203.97
11. Eduardo Aparecido, 17, 0, 3, 243.50, $61,376.52
12. Ramon de Lima, 13, 1, 2, 241.16, $83,662.79
13. Cody Teel, 16, 0, 4, 238.75, $107,312.98
14. Matt Triplett, 30, 3, 8, 236.00, $119,681.38
15. Ezekiel Mitchell, 27, 1, 5, 228.50, $58,322.74
16. Mason Taylor, 27, 2, 6, 213.75, $44,705.36
17. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 27, 4, 11, 202.33, $52,908.78
18. Marco Eguchi, 21, 3, 10, 194.25, $65,093.64
19. Claudio Montanha Jr., 15, 0, 3, 185.00, $46,522.84
20. Stetson Lawrence, 25, 1, 7, 173.00, $61,997.50
21. Cooper Davis, 16, 2, 11, 159.00, $56,057.78
22. Joao Henrique Lucas, 25, 1, 4, 150.91, $30,689.26
23. Derek Kolbaba, 31, 2, 6, 148.50, $29,432.08
24. Aaron Kleier, 19, 1, 6, 146.83, $38,682.12
25. Alex Cerqueira, 19, 1, 4, 143.00, $30,860.16
26. Dakota Buttar, 13, 3, 7, 124.50, $33,427.99
27. Tye Chandler, 10, 1, 3, 123.33, $29,556.67
28. Ryan Dirteater, 12, 0, 6, 120.00, $56,261.41
29. Brennon Eldred, 22, 0, 2, 111.00, $29,195.32
30. Lachlan Richardson, 7, 2, 3, 104.00, $45,405.11
31. Andrew Alvidrez, 26, 2, 6, 103.50, $34,844.35
32. Amadeu Campos Silva, 27, 0, 4, 101.66, $28,777.09
33. Silvano Alves, 29, 0, 4, 98.00, $22,771.07
34. Taylor Toves, 20, 1, 2, 96.50, $39,187.46
35. Brock Radford, 21, 2, 8, 84.66, $28,774.17
36. Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 18, 1, 6, 84.00, $24,875.53
37. Cody Casper, 34, 1, 3, 83.00, $22,668.93
37. Dakota Louis, 33, 1, 7, 83.00, $41,109.01
39. Paulo Ferreira Lima, 20, 1, 6, 82.50, $24,843.90
40. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 17, 3, 7, 80.50, $52,988.96
41. Bruno Scaranello, 8, 1, 2, 76.99, $14,616.67
42. Marcus Mast, 31, 0, 5, 75.66, $29,597.13
43. Bradley Brittain, 11, 1, 2, 75.00, $13,270.00
44. Jake Lockwood, 21, 1, 1, 74.66, $22,123.48
45. Cody Campbell, 14, 1, 2, 72.00, $16,030.00

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