Souza and Alvidrez Tie for Round 1 Win in Lincoln

By: Kacie Albert

LINCOLN, Neb. – As the final regular-season PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Unleash The Beast event of 2021 got underway Saturday evening in Lincoln, Nebraska the world’s best bull riders showed out, covering nearly half of their bovine athlete opponents in the opening round of competition for the PBR Cooper Tires Invitational. While it was Junior Patrik Souza (Sonora, Brazil) and Andrew Alvidrez (Seminole, Texas) who tied for the Round 1 victory, world No. 2 Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil) and No. 3 Cooper Davis (Jasper, Texas) delivered qualified rides as well to further intensify the already heated battle for the 2021 PBR World Championship.

Souza and Alvidrez both delivered Round 1-best scores of 88 points. They covered Rip (3J Ranch) and Last Chance (Sho-Me Rodeo/Rafter J), respectively, to each net a critical 23 world points.

Souza’s golden finish allowed him to climb one position in the world standings, rising from No. 10 to No. 9.

Currently the No. 1 ranked rider in the race for the coveted Rookie of the Year honor, the 8-second effort also allowed Souza to extend his lead amongst first-year premier series riders. Souza now leads No. 2 Chase Dougherty (Stephenville, Texas) by 67 points.

For Alvidrez, he remained No. 28 in the world standings as he prepares for his first PBR World Finals on Nov. 3-7 in Las Vegas at T-Mobile Arena.

Despite finishing further down the leaderboard, both 2016 PBR World Champion Davis and 2018 PBR World Champion Pacheco continued to capitalize on world No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme’s (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil) absence, delivering qualified rides to earn world points Saturday evening inside Pinnacle Bank Arena. Reigning PBR World Champion Leme has been sidelined since mid-September after injuring his groin en route to the event win in Newark, New Jersey.

Davis led the active title contenders, tying for ninth in Round 1 courtesy of his 85.5-point ride on Nightmare (Richardson Land & Cattle Co.). The stoic Texan collected 10.5 world points to inch within 778.5 points of the No. 1 position.

As the last man to erupt from the chutes in the Cornhusker State, Pacheco brought the crowd to its feet when he matched Mongoose (Cunningham/Scoggins) jump-for-jump, earning a score of 83.75 points. The “Ice Man” earned 8 world points for the qualified ride, and he now trails No. 1 Leme by 627 points.

Reining PBR World Finals event winner Boudreaux Campbell (Crockett, Texas) and Ramon de Lima (Rio Branco, Brazil) tied for third in Round 1 of the PBR Cooper Tires Invitational, each netting 16.5 world points.

Both riders were scored 87.5 points after Campbell covered Bring The Bling (GEM Bucking Bulls) and Lima went the distance atop Masimodo (Flying C/Flying P Bucking Bulls).

Campbell remained No. 6 in the world standings, now within 1,351.5 points of the top position, while Lima rose five positions from No. 49 to No. 43. Eager to return to the PBR World Finals for the fifth consecutive season, Lima now trails the Top 35, and the threshold to qualify for the sport’s most prestigious event, by 62.33 points.

Rounding out the Top 5 in fifth was young gun Jesse Petri (Dublin, Texas).

Fresh off his career-first PBR Unleash The Beast event win last weekend in Manchester, New Hampshire, Petri continued his momentum in Nebraska when he covered Breaking Records (Rafter B Bucking Bulls/Harris) for 86.75 points.

Petri earned 15 world points, remaining the No. 13-ranked bull rider in the world.

PBR Unleash The Beast action from Lincoln, Nebraska, and Pinnacle Bank Arena will conclude on Sunday, October 24, starting at 1:45 p.m. CDT with Round 2 and the championship round for the PBR Cooper Tires Invitational.

PBR RidePass on PlutoTV will offer re-airs and on-demand replays of every PBR Unleash The Beast event. PBR RidePass is available on desktops, laptops and mobile devices via www.pluto.tv. Tune to channel 720 for the latest programming schedule, and click here for on-demand PBR programming.

PBR Unleash The Beast
PBR Cooper Tires Invitational
Pinnacle Bank Arena – Lincoln, Nebraska
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Junior Patrik Souza, 88-0-0-88.00-23 Points.
(tie). Andrew Alvidrez, 88-0-0-88.00-23 Points.
3. Boudreaux Campbell, 87.5-0-0-87.50-16.5 Points.
(tie). Ramon de Lima, 87.5-0-0-87.50-16.5 Points.
5. Jesse Petri, 86.75-0-0-86.75-15 Points.
6. Thiago Salgado, 86.5-0-0-86.50-14 Points.
7. Eduardo Aparecido, 85.75-0-0-85.75-12.5 Points.
(tie). Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 85.75-0-0-85.75-12.5 Points.
9. Cooper Davis, 85.5-0-0-85.50-10.5 Points.
(tie). Claudio Montanha Jr., 85.5-0-0-85.50-10.5 Points.
11. Cody Teel, 85.25-0-0-85.25-9 Points.
12. João Henrique Lucas, 85-0-0-85.00-8 Points.
(tie). Adriano Salgado, 85-0-0-85.00-8 Points.
14. Cody Casper, 84.25-0-0-84.25-8 Points.
15. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 84-0-0-84.00-8 Points.
16. Kaique Pacheco, 83.75-0-0-83.75-8 Points.
17. Chase Dougherty, 83.5-0-0-83.50-8 Points.
João Ricardo Vieira, 0-0-0-0.00
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0.00
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0.00
Marco Eguchi, 0-0-0-0.00
Silvano Alves, 0-0-0-0.00
Daylon Swearingen, 0-0-0-0.00
Mason Taylor, 0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0.00
Cole Melancon, 0-0-0-0.00
Conner Halverson, 0-0-0-0.00
Manoelito de Souza Junior, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Nance, 0-0-0-0.00
Lucas Divino, 0-0-0-0.00
Fernando Henrique Novais, 0-0-0-0.00
Jess Lockwood, 0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Louis, 0-0-0-0.00
Leonardo Lima, 0-0-0-0.00
Marcos Gloria, 0-0-0-0.00
Matt Triplett, 0-0-0-0.00
Dalton Rudman, 0-0-0-0.00
Thor Hoefer II, 0-0-0-0.00
Austin Beaty, 0-0-0-0.00
Mason Ward, 0-0-0-0.00

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