Perfect Joao Ricardo Vieira Clinches First UTB Event Win of 2024 Season in Tulsa
By: Kacie Albert
TULSA, Okla. – As an electric Sooner State crowd watched on Saturday evening, Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil) won his first PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Unleash The Beast event of the 2024 season, capping his perfect 3-for-3 performance with a monster 90-point championship round ride to claim victory at the Express Ranches PBR, presented by Hard Rock Hotel & Casino – Tulsa.
Vieira, who was part of the 2023 PBR Teams Champion Texas Rattlers in the separate PBR Teams league, first put points on the board in Round 1 when he covered Whiplash (Blake Sharp/Floyd Lowry/CB & Traci Lee) for 86.75 points.
Tied for fourth on the event leaderboard, Vieira then surged to the top position when he rode Bamboozle (Farris Cattle/Big Schott Rodeo) for 87.75 points in Round 2.
With the first pick in the championship round bull draft, Vieira elected to go head-to-head with 2023 ABBI (American Bucking Bulls Inc.) Classic World Champion Flyin Wired (Tommy Julian/BS Cattle Co.).
Vieira nodded confidently, remaining in perfect time with the animal athlete as he reached the requisite 8 with ease. Marked a monstrous 91.75 points, the mammoth ride clinched Vieira the event win, tying him with Gary Richard (Houston, Texas) as the oldest rider to win a premier series event at age 39.
The golden showing garnered Vieira a check for $48,535, along with a crucial 141.5 Unleash The Beast points. Chasing his first World Championship, Vieira rose from No. 19 to No. 5 in the standings, inching within 406.5 points of the No. 1 rank.
Cassio Dias (Sao F. de Sales, Brazil) extended his lead atop the standings courtesy of a sixth-place finish in Tulsa.
The Kansas City Outlaws sensation was third in Round 1, covering Lansky (Grin/Jacobson/McCoy Rodeo) for 87.75 points. However, his momentum ended in Round 2 when he was tossed by Canadian-born Norse God (Jane Clark/Gene Owen) in 4.43 seconds.
Quick to rebound, Dias concluded the event with a score, making the whistle on two-time reigning YETI PBR World Champion Bull Ridin’ Solo (Bill McCarty/McCoy Rodeo) for a commanding 90.75 points.
Dias earned 45 Unleash The Beast points, extending his lead over No. 2 Austin Richardson (Dallas, Texas) to 123 points. After winning Round 1, Richardson was shut out on Championship Saturday, ultimately concluding the event 10th and earning 30 Unleash The Beast points.
Rookie sensation John Crimber (Decatur, Texas) finished a career-best second in Tulsa, collecting 84.5 Unleash The Beast points.
In Round 1, Crimber made a business decision, declining the option of a second re-ride after covering Tijuana Two-Step (Blake Sharp/Michael Floyd) for 76.75 points.
Crimber, positioned 17th on the event leaderboard, then took on Mikey’s Surprise (Hart Cattle Co./Hale) in Round 2. Delivering his second score in as many attempts, Crimber was marked 85.5 points to catapult to second in the event.
For his final bovine athlete opponent, Crimber architected a showdown with Chateau Montelena’s Montana Jacket (Vella/Coleman/Ogden/Hart). Crimber erupted from the chutes, remaining centered atop the powerful animal athlete as the buzzer sounded and the crowd erupted in raucous cheer.
Crimber was scored 91.5 points, tying for his career-best score across all levels of PBR competition and marking his first 90-point ride in Unleash The Beast competition.
The 18-year-old phenom rose from No. 32 to No. 13 in the Unleash The Beast standings.
Third was the Kansas City Outlaws’ Wingson Henrique da Silva (Navirai, Brazil).
As the final rider to go a flawless 3-for-3, Silva rode White Dino (Copper Creek Bucking Bulls/G&K Cattle/Winrock) for 78.25 points in Round 1 and Jersey Tuff (McClellan/Lidgard/Hart) for 78.5 points in Round 2 before delivering a powerful 90-point ride in the championship round on Ricky Vaughn (D&H Cattle Co./Buck Cattle Co.).
Silva is now ranked No. 19 in the 2024 PBR World Championship race after traveling to Tulsa ranked No. 34.
Rounding out the Top 5 was young gun Clay Guiton (Cherryville, North Carolina) in fifth.
While Guiton was bucked off in the opening round of just his second career Unleash The Beast event, bested by Triple Aught (Addi Drury/Nothin’ But Try/Diggers) in 2.17 seconds, he returned on Championship Saturday with newfound confidence.
In Round 2, Guiton was a near picture of perfection on Punchy Pete (Crescent City Bucking Bulls/Lari Crane/Gene Owen), reaching the 8 for a monstrous 90 points.
Guiton then continued to set career firsts in the championship round when he delivered his career-best score in Unleash The Beast competition, riding Bandito Bug (Chris Utz/Carey Brothers/Mike Chaney/Blake Sharp) for 90.25 points.
Guiton left Oklahoma with 51 Unleash The Beast points, rising from unranked to No. 36 in the series standings.
In the bull pen, Man Hater (Jane Clark/Gene Owen) showed the crowd just why he’s the current No. 1 ranked bull in the world. Scored a commanding 46.25 points in the championship round for his 4.63 seconds of work against the Texas Rattlers’ Brady Fielder (Clermont, Queensland, Australia), the powerful bovine earned his PBR-best seventh YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the event title.
The Express Ranches PBR Tulsa, presented by Hard Rock Hotel & Casino – Tulsa, also featured the return of Dana White’s Twisted Steel (Dana White/DD Bucking Bulls). Out in Round 2, Dana White’s Twisted Steel improved to a perfect 3-0 against Vitor Losnake (Bauru, Brazil), tossing the Arizona Ridge Rider in 2.48 seconds to earn a 43-point bull score.
The PBR Unleash The Beast next travels to the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, for the Kubota PBR Houston, presented by Michelob ULTRA. The event is on Friday, Jan. 26, at 7:45 p.m. CT, and Saturday, Jan. 27, at 6:45 p.m. CT.
Elsewhere in the PBR, the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour held events in both Grand Rapids, Michigan, and Reno, Nevada.
In Grand Rapids, Cody McCandless (Derry, Pennsylvania) reached a career milestone, winning his first PBR event at the Tractor Supply Co. PBR Grand Rapids, going a perfect 3-for-3. After finishing eighth in Round 1 courtesy of a 78.5-point outing on Little Hornet (Mike Miller Bucking Bulls), the Pennsylvanian rose to fourth on the event leaderboard in Round 2, topping Rip VanWinkle (J Bar W) for 82.5 points. McCandless then punctuated his perfect weekend with an 85.5-point ride atop Muss Buss (C-B Bucking Bulls) in the championship round, clinching the event victory and also earning him 116 Velocity Global points.
The event in Reno is still in progress.
The PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour next travels to Greenville, South Carolina, and Laredo, Texas, on Jan. 26-27.
PBR Greenville at Bon Secours Wellness Arena gets underway on Friday, Jan. 26 at 7:45 p.m. EST and concludes on Saturday, Jan. 27 at 6:45 p.m. EST. PBR Laredo at Sames Auto Arena begins on Friday, Jan. 26, at 8 p.m. CST and will come to a climactic conclusion on Saturday, Jan. 27, at 7 p.m. CST.
PBR RidePass on Pluto TV will offer re-airs and on-demand replays of every PBR Unleash The Beast and Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event. PBR RidePass is available on desktops, laptops and mobile devices via www.pluto.tv. Click here for on-demand PBR programming.
PBR Unleash The Beast
Express Ranches PBR Tulsa, presented by Hard Rock Hotel & Casino – Tulsa
BOK Center – Tulsa, Oklahoma
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. João Ricardo Vieira, 86.75-87.75-91.75-266.25-141.5 Points.
2. John Crimber, 76.75-85.5-91.5-253.75-84.5 Points.
3. Wingson Henrique da Silva, 78.25-78.5-90-246.75-68 Points.
4. Dalton Kasel, 0-91.75-91.5-183.25-68.5 Points.
5. Clay Guiton, 0-90-90.25-180.25-51 Points.
6. Cassio Dias, 87.75-0-90.75-178.50-45 Points.
7. Dawson Branton, 86.75-0-91.25-178.00-38.5 Points.
8. Mason Taylor, 86.5-0-88.25-174.75-30.5 Points.
9. Brady Fielder, 84-71.5-0-155.50-15 Points.
10. Austin Richardson, 89-0-0-89.00-30 Points.
11. Alan de Souza, 88.25-0-0-88.25-19 Points.
12. Cort McFadden, 86.5-0-0-86.50-13.5 Points.
13. Alex Cerqueira, 86.25-0-0-86.25-12 Points.
14. Kaique Pacheco, 86-0-0-86.00-11 Points.
15. Eli Vastbinder, 85.25-0-0-85.25-10 Points.
16. Silvano Alves, 0-85-0-85.00-15 Points.
17. Ednélio Almeida, 84.25-0-0-84.25-9 Points.
18. Dener Barbosa, 84-0-0-84.00-8 Points.
19. Kaiden Loud, 83.75-0-0-83.75-8 Points.
20. Eduardo Aparecido, 0-82.75-0-82.75-14 Points.
21. Koltin Hevalow, 0-82.5-0-82.50-13 Points.
(tie). Bob Mitchell, 82.5-0-0-82.50-8 Points.
23. Guilherme Valleiras, 72.25-0-0-72.25
Cody Jesus, 0-0-0-0.00
Julio Cesar Marques, 0-0-0-0.00
Conner Halverson, 0-0-0-0.00
Sage Steele Kimzey, 0-0-0-0.00
Vitor Losnake, 0-0-0-0.00
Caden Bunch, 0-0-0-0.00
Felipe Furlan, 0-0-0-0.00
Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 0-0-0-0.00
Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0-0.00
Boudreaux Campbell, 0-0-0-0.00
Daylon Swearingen, 0-0-0-0.00
Wyatt Rogers, 0-0-0-0.00
Jesse Petri, 0-0-0-0.00
Luciano De Castro, 0-0-0-0.00
Lucas Divino, 0-0-0-0.00
Briggs Madsen, 0-0-0-0.00
Dawson Gleaves, 0-0-0-0.00
PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour
Tractor Supply Co. PBR Grand Rapids
Van Andel Arena – Grand Rapids, Michigan
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Cody McCandless, 78.5-82.5-85.5-246.50-116 Points.
2. Qynn Andersen, 85.5-0-87.5-173.00-96 Points.
3. Marco Rizzo, 87-84-0-171.00-80.5 Points.
4. Rubens Barbosa, 83.5-84.5-0-168.00-54 Points.
5. Grayson Cole, 84.5-83-0-167.50-48 Points.
6. Tyler Manor, 83-0-81-164.00-43 Points.
7. Hunter Ball, 85-0-0-85.00-22.5 Points.
(tie). Alvin Detweiler, 0-85-0-85.00-33.5 Points.
9. João Paulo Fernandes, 0-84-0-84.00-20.5 Points.
10. Jean Fernandes Pereira, 81.5-0-0-81.50-15 Points.
11. Matt Allgood, 0-73.5-0-73.50-13 Points.
Dylan Smith, 0-0-0-0.00
Keith Hall, 0-0-0-0.00
Dustin Herman, 0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Warnken, 0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Eagleburger, 0-0-0-0.00
Casey Coulter, 0-0-0-0.00
Brandon McDowell, 0-0-0-0.00
Lane Lasley, 0-0-0-0.00
Justin Ethridge, 0-0-0-0.00
Trace Brown, 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Jenks, 0-0-0-0.00
Bennie Shetler, 0-0-0-0.00
Jake Goodson, 0-0-0-0.00
Ueberson Duarte, 0-0-0-0.00
Douglas Lino de Souza, 0-0-0-0.00
Cole Trivette [1], 0-0-0-0.00
Cole Trivette [2], 0-0-0-0.00
Jared Avina, 0-0-0-0.00
Bruno Jose Barros, 0-0-0-0.00
Eder Barbosa, 0-0-0-0.00
Perry Schrock, 0-0-0-0.00
Michael Phillips, 0-0-0-0.00
Lester Yoder, 0-0-0-0.00
Drake Buell, 0-0-0-0.00
2024 PBR Unleash The Beast Standings
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5’s, Points, Total Winnings)
1. Cassio Dias, 8, 3, 4, 656.50, $174,274.00
2. Austin Richardson, 8, 2, 3, 533.50, $188,437.00
3. Eduardo Aparecido, 7, 0, 2, 280.50, $48,755.00
4. Dalton Kasel, 7, 0, 2, 279.50, $57,118.00
5. João Ricardo Vieira, 6, 1, 2, 250.00, $65,337.67
6. Brady Fielder, 7, 1, 2, 241.33, $55,838.00
7. Alan de Souza, 6, 0, 2, 231.50, $40,720.33
8. Koltin Hevalow, 8, 0, 2, 220.00, $26,712.00
9. Cody Jesus, 6, 0, 2, 200.00, $31,254.67
10. Julio Cesar Marques, 8, 0, 1, 179.00, $24,917.67
11. Kaiden Loud, 8, 0, 1, 149.50, $26,477.00
12. Kaique Pacheco, 5, 0, 1, 147.50, $22,183.33
13. John Crimber, 5, 0, 1, 139.33, $24,169.67
14. Alex Cerqueira, 8, 0, 1, 137.50, $14,628.00
15. Conner Halverson, 7, 0, 1, 136.50, $12,010.00
16. Sage Steele Kimzey, 5, 0, 1, 132.00, $18,569.17
17. Vitor Losnake, 6, 0, 1, 129.50, $12,173.33
18. Caden Bunch, 8, 1, 1, 125.00, $41,955.17
19. Wingson Henrique da Silva, 6, 0, 2, 118.00, $13,450.00
20. Felipe Furlan, 6, 0, 1, 115.50, $19,416.00
21. Bob Mitchell, 8, 0, 1, 112.00, $8,390.00
22. Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 8, 0, 1, 109.50, $9,879.50
23. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 6, 0, 0, 104.00, $13,855.00
24. Boudreaux Campbell, 8, 0, 0, 98.00, $8,213.00
25. Silvano Alves, 6, 0, 0, 96.50, $7,275.00
26. Daylon Swearingen, 8, 0, 0, 96.00, $6,905.00
27. Braidy Randolph, 5, 0, 0, 92.50, $10,321.33
28. Jose Vitor Leme, 2, 0, 1, 91.00, $12,013.67
29. Eli Vastbinder, 7, 0, 0, 84.50, $4,100.00
30. Ednélio Almeida, 8, 0, 0, 73.00, $5,237.50
31. Cort McFadden, 2, 0, 1, 72.50, $9,305.00
32. Wyatt Rogers, 8, 0, 0, 69.50, $3,505.00
33. Mason Taylor, 3, 0, 0, 60.00, $5,080.00
34. Jesse Petri, 8, 0, 0, 56.00, $4,300.00
35. Brady Oleson, 7, 0, 0, 51.83, $3,025.00
36. Clay Guiton, 2, 0, 1, 51.00, $6,746.00
37. Luciano De Castro, 6, 0, 0, 47.33, $5,200.00
38. Lucas Divino, 8, 0, 0, 44.00, $2,260.00
39. Flavio Zivieri, 6, 0, 1, 42.00, $5,500.00
39. João Lucas Campos, 5, 0, 0, 42.00, $3,723.00
41. Jake Morinec, 3, 0, 1, 39.50, $5,092.00
42. Dawson Branton, 1, 0, 0, 38.50, $4,355.00
43. Rafael dos Santos, 5, 0, 0, 31.00, $4,580.00
44. Guilherme Valleiras, 4, 0, 0, 30.00, $5,046.00
45. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 4, 0, 0, 27.00, $3,223.00
Photo courtesy of Andy Watson/Bull Stock Media
2024 PBR Inc. All rights reserved.