Melancon Wins Round 1 of First-Ever Premier Series Event in Okeechobee, Florida

By: Kacie Albert

OKEECHOBEE, Fla. – Earning his league-leading third round victory of the 2021 season, surging Texan Cole Melancon (Paris, Texas) dominated the opening afternoon of competition at the first-ever PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Unleash The Beast event in Okeechobee, Florida, winning Round 1 of the PBR Coors Banquet Invitational at the Agri-Civic Center.

Melancon shot to the top of the leaderboard compliments of an 88.5-point score atop Soup in a Group (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Wilks Ranch). Along with collecting 20 world points for his round victory, the 26-year-old also earned eight bonus points for the qualified ride.

Remaining No. 5 in the world, Melancon is now within 30.5 points of No. 1 Junior Patrik Souza (Sonora, Brazil).

Souza retained his world No. 1 rank after finishing tenth in Round 1 when he covered Sky Harbor (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Wilks Ranch) for a 78.5-point score. He earned nine world points.

Mauricio Moreira (Gaviao Peixoto, Brazil) was second, netting a total of 18 world points.

The up-and-coming Brazilian, who earned his career-first Unleash The Beast victory at the season-launch event in Ocala, delivered the silver-finish when he reached the requisite 8 atop Udder Lover (Hart Cattle Co./Hale/Randy Wood) for an 87.75-point ride score.

While he remained No. 2 in the world, Moreira inched within 11 world points of Souza and reclaiming the world No. 1 rank.

Facing 10-time Stock Contractor of the Year Chad Berger’s Stretch (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Heald Pro Bulls) for the third time in his career, 2016 PBR World Champion Cooper Davis (Jasper, Texas) remained perfect against the bovine athlete Saturday afternoon to finish third in Round 1.

Davis matched the striking bull jump-for-jump and was marked 87.75 points to net 17 world points.

The pair first met in 2018 during Round 5 of the PBR World Finals when the Texan reached the whistle for a monstrous 90.5 points. Less than a year later, Davis logged his second ride aboard the bull on the elite tour in Green Bay, Wisconsin, when he was marked 89.25 points.

Seeking to become the seventh multi-time PBR World Champion in 2021, Davis remained No. 4 in the world, but honed within 25.5 points of the No. 1 rank.

Covering Gangster Boy (Rickey West Bucking Bulls) for 87.25 points, Brennon Eldred (Sulphur, Oklahoma) was fourth.

The Oklahoman’s marks collected him 16 world points, allowing him to crack into the world’s Top 10. Eldred is now ranked No. 9, 99.5 points behind the top position.

Rounding out the Top 5 in Round 1 was Joao Henrique Lucas (Bastos, Brazil) in fifth.

Earning 15 world points, Lucas covered Coy Dog (Rickey West Bucking Bulls) for 87 points.

Fans can relive all the action from Round 1 of the PBR Coors Banquet Invitational from Okeechobee at 8:00 a.m. ET on Saturday, January 31 on RidePass at RidePass.com or via the RidePass mobile app. CBS Sports Network will also air coverage of the opening round starting at 10:30 a.m. ET on Sunday, January 31.

The PBR Unleash The Beast: American Roots Edition’s Coors Banquet Invitational will conclude on Sunday, January 31 at 2:00 p.m. ET with Round 2 followed by the championship round.

PBR Unleash The Beast: American Roots Edition
PBR Coors Banquet Invitational
Agri-Civic Center – Okeechobee, Florida
(Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Cole Melancon, 88.5-0-0-88.50-28 Points.
2. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 87.75-0-0-87.75-18 Points.
3. Cooper Davis, 87.5-0-0-87.50-17 Points.
4. Brennon Eldred, 87.25-0-0-87.25-16 Points.
5. Joao Henrique Lucas, 87-0-0-87.00-15 Points.
6. Colten Fritzlan, 86.5-0-0-86.50-14 Points.
7. João Ricardo Vieira, 85.75-0-0-85.75-13 Points.
8. Alex Cerqueira, 85-0-0-85.00-12 Points.
9. Ezekiel Mitchell, 83.75-0-0-83.75-11 Points.
10. Junior Patrik Souza, 78.5-0-0-78.50-9 Points.
Kaique Pacheco, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Teel, 0-0-0-0.00
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0.00
Silvano Alves, 0-0-0-0.00
Marco Eguchi, 0-0-0-0.00
Dalton Kasel, 0-0-0-0.00
J.T. Moore, 0-0-0-0.00
Dener Barbosa, 0-0-0-0.00
Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 0-0-0-0.00
Eduardo Aparecido, 0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Louis, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Casper, 0-0-0-0.00
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0.00
Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-0-0-0.00
Mason Taylor, 0-0-0-0.00
Taylor Toves, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Nance, 0-0-0-0.00
J.B. Mauney, 0-0-0-0.00
Tye Chandler, 0-0-0-0.00
Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 0-0-0-0.00

© 2021 PBR Inc. All rights reserved.