What to Watch For: Fifty-Nine Riders on Hand for Action in Sacramento
By: Darci Miller
PUEBLO, Colo. – We’re shaking things up this weekend at the PBR Wrangler Long Live Cowboys Classic in Sacramento, California.
It’s a three-day event with a 15/15 Bucking Battle, but it’s not your typical Unleash The Beast event. It will be two long rounds and a short round, with Round 1 split across Friday and Saturday, which means many extra riders on hand with an opportunity to compete on the premier series.
Round 1 on Friday features the riders in the 15/15 Bucking Battle plus 20 additional riders. On Saturday, Round 1 will conclude, featuring the 24 riders that did not ride on Friday night. After those 24 outs, the 15/15 Bucking Battle will take place.
On Sunday, all seeded riders and riders with exemptions are guaranteed to ride, plus any of the extra riders that get a qualified ride in Round 1. This will be followed by the championship round, featuring the usual Top 12 in the aggregate.
Round 1 airs Friday at 10:45 p.m. ET on RidePass on Pluto TV.
Many riders in the draw this week have had some big moments in Sacramento. Mauricio Moreira was the event champion in 2022 and won the 15/15 Bucking Battle in 2021. Joao Ricardo Vieira also has both an event and a 15/15 win in Sacramento, winning the 2019 event and 2020 15/15. Dalton Kasel (2021), Jose Vitor Leme (2020), Ramon de Lima (2018) and Jess Lockwood (2017) have each taken home an event buckle from Sacramento, while Eduardo Aparecido (2017) and Kaique Pacheco (2018) have won the 15/15.
Speaking of Pacheco, he was victorious at last weekend’s 15/15 Bucking Battle in Indianapolis. It was the seventh special-round win of his career, tying him with Leme for second-most all-time (Vieira is first with eight). His 93-point ride aboard Ricky Vaughn is the second-highest score of his career.
Pacheco will take on The Right Stuff (31-7, UTB) in the 15/15 in Sacramento (Sunday at noon ET on CBS).
15/15 BUCKING BATTLE MATCHUPS
Marcelo Procopio Pereira vs. Manaba
Brady Oleson vs. Sky Harbor
Boudreaux Campbell vs. Cold Creek*
Eduardo Aparecido vs. Night Hawk*
Mason Taylor vs. HomeBru
Silvano Alves vs. Pookie Holler
Jesse Petri vs. Alakazam
Luciano de Castro vs. July
Rafael Jose de Brito vs. Snake Eyes
Dalton Kasel vs. Dennis the Menace
Thiago Salgado vs. Smooth Steel*
Cooper Davis vs. Express Lane*
Kaique Pacheco vs. The Right Stuff
Jose Vitor Leme vs. Charmer
Andrew Alvidrez vs. JAG Metals Grand Theft*
*indicates a rematch
WHO’S IN FOR SACRAMENTO (# must ride to advance to Sunday)
Andrew Alvidrez
Jose Vitor Leme
Kaique Pacheco
Cooper Davis
Thiago Salgado
Dalton Kasel
Rafael Jose de Brito
Luciano de Castro
Jesse Petri
Silvano Alves
Mason Taylor
Eduardo Aparecido
Boudreaux Campbell
Brady Oleson
Marcelo Procopio Pereira
Casey Roberts
Derek Kolbaba
Keyshawn Whitehorse
Bob Mitchell
Joao Ricardo Vieira
Wingson Henrique da Silva
Koltin Hevalow
Jess Lockwood
Manoelito de Souza Junior
Colten Fritzlan
Sandro Batista
Eli Vastbinder
Ezekiel Mitchell
Marcus Mast
Rafael Henrique dos Santos
Chase Outlaw
Dener Barbosa
Wyatt Rogers
Alex Cerqueira#
Dakota Louis#
Austin Richardson
Vitor Losnake
Mauricio Moreira
Kyler Oliver
Joao Henrique Lucas#
Adriano Salgado#
Conner Halverson#
Alex Marcilio#
Chase Dougherty
Dalton Rudman#
Ramon de Lima#
Claudio Montanha Jr.#
Elijah Mora#
Dawson Branton
Leonardo Lima#
Alvaro Alvarez Aguilar#
Bill Henry#
Flavio Zivieri
Casey Coulter#
Aaron Williams#
Junio Quaresima#
Kyle Jones#
Ray Mayo#
Tyler Manor#
WHO’S OUT DUE TO INJURY/OTHER
Daniel Keeping
Tate Pollmeier
Braidy Randolph
Junior Patrik Souza
Briggs Madsen
Ednei Caminhas
Cody Jesus
Cole Melancon
Daylon Swearingen
Alisson de Souza
Cole Fischer
Clayton Sellars
Lucas Divino
INJURY UPDATES
Last week’s event winner, No. 4 Daniel Keeping, is out of competition this week due to injury. However, No. 5 Cooper Davis is back in the draw, as is two-time World Champion Jess Lockwood, who was a late scratch due to illness last weekend. Before that, Lockwood notched his first premier-series outs in nearly a year when he finished second overall in Duluth, Georgia.
Keeping is the only rider in the Top 15 of the Unleash The Beast standings to be out this week. Dener Barbosa and Joao Ricardo Vieira are both in the draw, but both will undergo more evaluation on-site.
NOT LONELY AT THE TOP
As the calendar flips to February, there’s a heck of a world title race brewing. Andrew Alvidrez still holds the No. 1 spot following his back-to-back event wins earlier this season, but breathing room is getting scarce: he leads No. 2 Leme by just 53.5 points, and less than 100 points separates him from No. 4 Keeping.
Last week was an off week for Alvidrez, who went 1-for-2 to finish 14th in Indianapolis, also getting bucked off in the 15/15 Bucking Battle. Luckily for him, Leme matched his performance, finishing ninth and gaining minimal ground. However, No. 3 Pacheco won the 15/15 Bucking Battle and Keeping won the event, so now is no time for Alvidrez to rest on his laurels.
Alvidrez takes on Lil Bit Hood (0-0, UTB) in Round 1, while Leme faces off against Havoc (7-2, UTB).
ROUND 1 REMATCHES
Eduardo Aparecido vs. Dr. Campbell (2021 Cowboys For A Cause, 7.61 seconds; 2020 Ariat Invitational, 87.5 points)
Jose Vitor Leme vs. Havoc (2021 Bad Boy Mowers Mowdown, 4.26 seconds)
FOLLOW ALONG
Round 1 from Sacramento begins Friday, Feb. 3, at 10:45 p.m. ET on RidePass on Pluto TV and concludes on Pluto TV on Saturday, Feb. 4, at 9:45 p.m. ET. The third 15/15 Bucking Battle of the Unleash The Beast season will air on CBS at noon ET on Sunday, Feb. 5, with the weekend’s Round 2 and championship round airing at 5 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network.
Fans can stay tuned to PBR.com and PBR social media channels throughout the weekend for the latest scores, wrecks, injury updates and beyond as the world’s best bull riders get set to duke it out at the PBR Wrangler Long Live Cowboys Classic at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento.
© 2023 PBR Inc. All rights reserved.