White-Hot Pacheco Wins Round 1 in Louisville, Closes in on World No. 1 Ranking

By: Easton Colvin

LOUISVILLE, Ky. – Streaking Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil) is in the zone, riding as sharp and controlled as any time in his career, and the entire Unleash The Beast (UTB) tour is now on notice.

Pacheco, the 2018 PBR World Champion, rode his seventh-consecutive bull – the longest active streak across UTB competition – to win Round 1 of the 2021 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Lucas Oil Invitational Saturday night inside KFC Yum! Center.

Pacheco burst out of the chutes on the back of Nailed (Kruger Bucking Bulls), for the tan bull’s 75th career out, midway through Round 1, igniting the socially-distanced crowd as he matched the bovine foe into his hand leap for leap. Marked 88.25 points by the judges, Pacheco leads the field heading into championship Sunday.

“The round win is important for me because I’ve got to have the points,” said Pacheco. “I want another World Championship. But I don’t think about it. I just keep riding my bulls and doing my job.”

Pacheco earned 28 world points, closing the lead of World No. 1 Cooper Davis (Jasper, Texas) to just 53 world points.

Derek Kolbaba (Walla Walla, Washington) rode his way into second place, missing the round win by just 0.25 points after his 88-point performance aboard Cold Shot (M Rafter E Bucking Bulls).

Earning 18 world points, Kolbaba used the Saturday night performance to move up four spots in the world rankings, from No. 13 to No. 9. Kolbaba will ride into Sunday looking for his first UTB win of the 2021 season.

Veteran Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil) entered elite-company during Round 1 in the Bluegrass State. Taking care of business against Poncho Villa (K-C Bucking Bulls/Bull Creek Bucking Bulls) for 87.25 points, Vieira finished third in the round.

But the ride means more than simply a third-place round finish: Vieira became just the 19th rider in PBR history to record 300 qualified rides on the premier series.

World No. 1 and 2016 World Champion Cooper Davis didn’t let Pacheco gain too much ground, finishing fourth in the round. Drawing Playing Chicken (Kruger Bucking Bulls), Davis battled out of the chutes to hear the 8-second whistle for 87 points, earning 16 world points, to limit World No. 2 Pacheco’s gains.

Young gun Kyler Oliver (Roy, Utah) ended a three-out buckoff streak when he rode Get Nasty (K-C Bucking Bulls) in Round 1. Oliver’s ride was marked 86 points midway through Round 1, holding him in fifth place.

The Utah native picked up 15 points in the round and holds the No. 16 spot in the world.

Every out from Round 1 of the 2021 Lucas Oil Invitational can be revisited via the RidePass mobile app or on RidePass.com starting at 8 a.m. ET on Sunday, March 28.

Round 2 of the 2021 Lucas Oil Invitational starts at 1:45 p.m. ET from KFC Yum! Center on Sunday, March 28 and will be televised on CBS Sports Network at 8 p.m. ET.

Professional Bull Riders
PBR LUCAS OIL INVITATIONAL
LOUISVILLE, KY, 2021 – Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Kaique Pacheco, 88.25-0-0-88.25-28 Points.
2. Derek Kolbaba, 88-0-0-88.00-18 Points.
3. João Ricardo Vieira, 87.25-0-0-87.25-17 Points.
4. Cooper Davis, 87-0-0-87.00-16 Points.
5. Kyler Oliver, 86-0-0-86.00-15 Points.
6. Boudreaux Campbell, 85.5-0-0-85.50-13.5 Points.
(tie). Silvano Alves, 85.5-0-0-85.50-13.5 Points.
8. Cole Melancon, 85.25-0-0-85.25-12 Points.
9. Jose Vitor Leme, 84.25-0-0-84.25-11 Points.
10. Eduardo Aparecido, 84-0-0-84.00-9 Points.
(tie). João Henrique Lucas, 84-0-0-84.00-9 Points.
(tie). Andrew Alvidrez, 84-0-0-84.00-9 Points.
13. Matt Triplett, 83-0-0-83.00-8 Points.
Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0.00
Junior Patrik Souza, 0-0-0-0.00
Dener Barbosa, 0-0-0-0.00
Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0-0.00
Rafael Henrique dos Santos, 0-0-0-0.00
Colten Fritzlan, 0-0-0-0.00
Taylor Toves, 0-0-0-0.00
Marco Eguchi, 0-0-0-0.00
Jess Lockwood, 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Cerqueira, 0-0-0-0.00
Mason Taylor, 0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0.00
J.T. Moore, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Nance, 0-0-0-0.00
Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-0-0-0.00
Kyle Jones, 0-0-0-0.00
Chase Outlaw, 0-0-0-0.00
Ramon de Lima, 0-0-0-0.00

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