What’s on RidePass on Pluto TV This Week: Exclusive Live Unleash The Beast Action from Deadwood, South Dakota
By: Darci Miller
This weekend, the Unleash The Beast heads to Deadwood, South Dakota, for the first time.
And with less than two months remaining before the PBR World Finals on Nov. 3-7, every ride matters more than ever.
Tune into RidePass on Pluto TV (channel 720) to catch Round 1 of the PBR Monster Energy Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, LIVE on Saturday at 9:30 p.m. ET.
(And don’t forget that RidePass on Pluto TV features PBR content streaming 24/7 for free.)
Round 1 in Deadwood won’t be your last opportunity to see the premier series live on RidePass on Pluto TV, either. The upcoming events in Fairfax, Virginia; San Antonio, Texas; Greensboro, North Carolina; and Manchester, New Hampshire will also feature select rounds exclusively.
WHERE THINGS STAND HEADING INTO DEADWOOD: Last weekend in Newark, it was all about Jose Vitor Leme – for both good and bad reasons.
The reigning World Champion and current world No. 1 bull rider won his league-leading seventh premier series event of the season. He’s now just one win away from tying two-time World Champion Justin McBride for the most wins in a single season with eight. He also notched his record-setting 20th and 21st 90-point rides of the season and won the final two rounds of competition to tie two-time World Champion J.B. Mauney’s record for most round wins in a single season with 19.
Leme is the first rider in PBR history to win six or more events on the premier series in back-to-back seasons. Last season, en route to his World Championship, he also won seven events.
However, all is not well for the champ. Leme sustained a partial tear of his right groin during his event-winning 90.75-point ride on Slingin Tears in Newark. An MRI on Tuesday revealed a Grade 2 sprain, and Dr. Tandy Freeman has advised Leme to sit out for at least a few weeks to let the injury heal.
The injury is not season-ending, nor will it require surgery, but Leme will not be competing in Deadwood as he focuses on rehab and recovery. With such a significant lead in the world standings, it’s possible he could decide not to return until the World Finals.
The door is now officially open for other riders in once-distant contention for the world title to make up some ground.
For another rider to be a realistic threat to win the world title, he would likely have to be within 700-800 points of Leme. Right now, nobody is in that range. No. 2 Kaique Pacheco is 866 points behind, while No. 3 Cooper Davis is -914, No. 4 Dener Barbosa is -1,273.67 and No. 5 Joao Ricardo Vieira is -1,282.
While it’s improbable that Pacheco will catch Leme before the World Finals, by the time the world’s best bull riders head to Las Vegas, we could very well have a different race on our hands than we have today.
THE LAST TIME WE WERE IN SOUTH DAKOTA: This is the first-ever premier series stop in Deadwood, but South Dakota is far from a stranger to PBR action.
Deadwood itself is home to a regular stop on the Touring Pro Division schedule, won most recently by Casey Coulter in 2021.
Most recently, Sioux Falls hosted the premier series in April of this year as the first major professional sporting event since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic to welcome fans into an indoor arena at full capacity.
Shock of all shocks, it was Leme taking the victory with a 4-for-4 performance. He was ranked No. 3 in the world at the time. It was his second win of the season, and he had to ride through an injury to make it happen.
Before his Round 3 out on Lil 2 Train, Leme’s ankle, which he had broken in the first event of the 2021 season, was badly twisted when it was pinned against the chute panel. But he shook it off enough to ride Lil 2 Train for 90.5 points and went on to ride Hundred Bad Days for 92.25 points in the championship round for the win.
“I just focus on my bull to try to do my best,” Leme said at the time. “I feel some pain, but we need to be cowboy and ride the bulls. That’s what I came for. I try to focus on my bull to do my job.”
What will the action in South Dakota bring this year? Tune into RidePass on Pluto TV Saturday night to find out!
Watch the conclusion of the PBR Monster Energy Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires, on Sunday on CBS Sports Network at 8 p.m. ET, and tune in for the 15/15 Bucking Battle on CBS on Sunday at 3 p.m. ET. Check out the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour’s Fairfax Invitational on RidePass on Pluto TV as well on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET and Sunday at 2 p.m. ET.
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