Pacheco’s Second-Place Finish Brings Further Intrigue to the 2021 World Championship Race
By: Justin Felisko
PUEBLO, Colo. – 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco wound up less than 5 seconds away from possibly taking an even larger chunk out of world No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme’s lead this weekend at the PBR Monster Energy Invitational in Manchester, New Hampshire.
Pacheco had a chance to earn his sixth event win of the season, but he let a great opportunity pass him by when Mike’s Motive downed him in 3.29 seconds on the final out of the weekend at SNHU Arena.
The No. 2-ranked bull rider in the world entered the championship round as the only rider a perfect 2-or-2 until Jesse Petri jumped ahead of him in the event average with 87.5 points on WSM’s Foghorn Leghorn just before it was Pacheco’s turn to ride.
Regardless, Pacheco will certainly be able to leave the northeast knowing he is that much closer to challenging Leme for the 2021 World Championship now that he is only 635 points out of the world No. 1 ranking.
The PBR heads to Lincoln, Nebraska, next week for the PBR Cooper Tires Invitational – the Unleash The Beast regular-season finale – before the 2021 PBR World Finals begin on Nov. 3.
One rider can earn a maximum of 1,261 at those two events – 1,094 at the Finals (560 for winning the event average) – and there is the possibility that Pacheco could opt to compete at the 2021 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals and chase another 105 points on Oct. 30-31.
RELATED: Rallying for the 2021 World Championship starts one bull at a time for Pacheco
Pacheco appeared on cruise control for the win in Manchester through the first two rounds of competition. He won Round 1 with 91 points on Dirty Sancho and then began Saturday with 84.5 points on The Sauce Too.
In the championship round, Pacheco was a little late leaving the chutes with Mike’s Motive and immediately got pulled to the outside. He lost his outside foot as Mike’s Motive quickly disposed of him to end his weekend.
Pacheco still rebounded in a big way from his streak of five consecutive buckoffs heading into Manchester, and he once again proved he is not going to throw in the towel on the world title race. He still has quite the climb up the mountain but took a few steps forward in Manchester.
World No. 4 Joao Ricardo Vieira is 1,044 points behind Leme after picking up 11 world points in Manchester with his 1-for-2, 14th-place finish.
Professional Bull Riders – PBR MONSTER ENERGY INVITATIONAL
Manchester, NH, 2021 – Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Jesse Petri, 89-0-87.5-176.50-126 Points.
2. Kaique Pacheco, 91-84.5-0-175.50-91.5 Points.
3. Eli Vastbinder, 86.5-0-87.25-173.75-71 Points.
4. Derek Kolbaba, 0-88.5-0-88.50-49 Points.
5. Conner Halverson, 0-88-0-88.00-35 Points.
6. Junior Patrik Souza, 0-87.25-0-87.25-29 Points.
7. Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-87-0-87.00-22 Points.
8. Marcus Mast, 86.25-0-0-86.25-21 Points.
9. Eduardo Aparecido, 0-86-0-86.00-19 Points.
10. Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-85-0-85.00-16 Points.
11. Marcos Gloria, 0-84.5-0-84.50-13.5 Points.
12. Andrew Alvidrez, 83.75-0-0-83.75-15 Points.
13. Grayson Cole, 83.5-0-0-83.50-14 Points.
14. João Ricardo Vieira, 0-82.75-0-82.75-11 Points.
15. Cody Teel, 0-82.5-0-82.50-10 Points.
16. D.J. Parker, 80.75-0-0-80.75-13 Points.
17. Marco Eguchi, 76-0-0-76.00-4 Points.
Boudreaux Campbell, 0-0-0-0.00
Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0-0.00
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0.00
Chase Dougherty, 0-0-0-0.00
Silvano Alves, 0-0-0-0.00
João Henrique Lucas, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Jesus, 0-0-0-0.00
Daylon Swearingen, 0-0-0-0.00
Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 0-0-0-0.00
Mason Taylor, 0-0-0-0.00
Manoelito de Souza Junior, 0-0-0-0.00
Thiago Salgado, 0-0-0-0.00
Adriano Salgado, 0-0-0-0.00
Lucas Divino, 0-0-0-0.00
Fernando Henrique Novais, 0-0-0-0.00
Ramon de Lima, 0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Louis, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Casper, 0-0-0-0.00
Carlos Garcia, 0-0-0-0.00
Joe Hostetler, 0-0-0-0.00
Thor Hoefer II, 0-0-0-0.00
Jory Markiss, 0-0-0-0.00
Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
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