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World Championship Race Intensifies as World No. 4 Oliver Wins Round 1 in Kansas City

By: Kacie Albert

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – In front of a boisterous Kansas City crowd Friday evening inside the T-Mobile Center, the race for the 2022 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) World Championship reached a new level of intensity as four of the world’s Top 5-ranked riders delivered scores. After delivering the night’s lone 90-point score late in Round 1, Kyler Oliver (Roy, Utah) was unrivaled, solidifying his No. 4 rank and climbing within 76.16 points of reclaiming the No. 1 standing.

With the city still abuzz with Kansas City Outlaws fever, following the launch event of one of the eight new PBR Team Series teams inside T-Mobile Center earlier in the day, Oliver was electric as he climbed aboard Brutilizer (Guidry Land & Cattle, Inc./Dieckman Cattle Co.).

Oliver was then a near picture of perfection as he matched the striking animal athlete jump-for-jump en route to an impressive 90-point score.

“The guys ahead of me and behind me aren’t going to let up,” Oliver said moments after the round win. “It’s made me step up and ride to the best of my ability.”

For his efforts, Oliver collected a critical 29 world points. Eager to reclaim the No. 1 rank in the race for the season’s gold buckle, the young Utah-native is now just 76.16 points back.

Oliver’s competition, however, also answered the call on Friday evening as three additional riders ranked inside the Top 5 also delivered 8-second efforts.

World No. 1 Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York) and No. 5 Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil) tied for second alongside Chase Dougherty (Decatur, Texas), each delivering 89.5-point efforts to net 17 world points.

Swearingen covered Wired Kitty (Futrell/D&H Cattle Co.), Leme made the requisite 8 atop Dang, Dang (Davis Rodeo Ranch/Waller Bros), and Dougherty bested John 14:6 (Davis Rodeo Ranch/KHC Bucking Bulls).

Swearingen remained No. 1 in the world, extending his lead over No. 2 Mauricio Moreira (Gaviao Peixoto, Brazil) to 49.66 points.

Moreira was the lone rider inside the world’s Top 5 to not convert in Round 1 of the PBR Caterpillar Classic, presented by Union Home Mortgage. After being awarded a re-ride, Moreira was dealt a hard-fought, 5.78-second buckoff by Black Sunshine (Shuler Bucking Bulls).

Two-time and defending PBR World Champion Leme retained his world No. 5 rank, remaining 151.16 points behind No. 1 Swearingen.

Chasing history in 2022, should Leme once again be crowned the PBR World Champion in 2022, the stoic Brazilian would become the first rider in history to claim the honor in three consecutive seasons and just the third three-time PBR World Champion.

World No. 3 Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil) was also sensational in the opening round of competition for the 12th Unleash The Beast event of the 2022 season.

The veteran contender tied for seventh in the round courtesy of his 87.75-point effort aboard Quick Wick (4G Ranch). Vieira earned 12.5 world points, and he kept within 70.66 points of the No. 1 rank.

Should Vieira earn his first gold buckle at season’s end, he would become the oldest PBR World Champion in history. Currently 37, Vieira would surpass Adriano Moraes (Cachoeira Paulista, Brazil), who won his third title in 2006 at age 36.

Matt Triplett (Canton, South Dakota) also delivered an 87.75-point ride, covering Chief (Blake Sharp/Michael Floyd) to net 12.5 world points.

On a night that saw 18 qualified rides, Brady Oleson (Blackfoot, Idaho) rounded out the Top 5 in fifth.

Oleson rode Crossover (Shuler Bucking Bulls) for 88.75 points to collect 15 world points.

This evening also included the American Bucking Bull Inc. (ABBI) Classic Round that included 40 of the top 3- and 4-year-old up-and-coming bulls. An ABBI Classic competition is the next step in a young bovine’s competitive career that involves bucking with a rider.

2018 ABBI Cowgirl Futurity Champion 35F Cool Whip (Julian/Staci Addison/D&H Cattle/Crooked W) was crowned the Kansas City Classic Champion with a 91.84-point performance to earn more than $9,600. 70F Brusta (Joe & Nina Webb/Julian/D&H Cattle) was not far behind with 91.36 points for a second-place finish for just under $5,800.

Cooper and Scruggs’ 7F- Black Gold took third with 90.24 points and a $4,620 payout. Coming off his Little Rock win two weeks ago, 8194 Blue Duck (Davis Rodeo Ranch) posted 89.68 points for fourth place and $3,850, as 837 Kingdom (Futrell/D&H Cattle) rounded out the Top 5 in fifth with an 89.52-point out for close to $3,300.

Action for the 2022 PBR Caterpillar Classic, presented by Union Home Mortgage, will conclude with Round 2 and the championship round on Saturday, March 19. Action gets underway at 6:45 p.m. CDT.

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 Caterpillar Classic, presented by Union Home Mortgage
T-Mobile Center – Kansas City, Missouri
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Kyler Oliver, 90-0-0-90.00-29 Points.
2. Daylon Swearingen, 89.5-0-0-89.50-17 Points.
(tie). Jose Vitor Leme, 89.5-0-0-89.50-17 Points.
(tie). Chase Dougherty, 89.5-0-0-89.50-17 Points.
5. Brady Oleson, 88.75-0-0-88.75-15 Points.
6. Marco Eguchi, 88.5-0-0-88.50-14 Points.
7. João Ricardo Vieira, 87.75-0-0-87.75-12.5 Points.
(tie). Matt Triplett, 87.75-0-0-87.75-12.5 Points.
9. Brady Fielder, 87.5-0-0-87.50-11 Points.
10. Mason Taylor, 87.25-0-0-87.25-10 Points.
11. Brennon Eldred, 86.75-0-0-86.75-9 Points.
12. Kaique Pacheco, 85.5-0-0-85.50-8 Points.
13. Conner Halverson, 85.25-0-0-85.25-8 Points.
14. Dakota Louis, 83.75-0-0-83.75-8 Points.
15. Bob Mitchell, 83.5-0-0-83.50-8 Points.
(tie). Derek Kolbaba, 83.5-0-0-83.50-8 Points.
17. Tye Chandler, 82-0-0-82.00-8 Points.
18. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 81-0-0-81.00-8 Points.
Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0-0.00
Luciano De Castro, 0-0-0-0.00
Eli Vastbinder, 0-0-0-0.00
Dener Barbosa, 0-0-0-0.00
Dalton Kasel, 0-0-0-0.00
Austin Richardson, 0-0-0-0.00
Manoelito de Souza Junior, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Teel, 0-0-0-0.00
Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 0-0-0-0.00
Eduardo Aparecido, 0-0-0-0.00
João Henrique Lucas, 0-0-0-0.00
Andrew Alvidrez, 0-0-0-0.00
Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-0-0-0.00
Ramon de Lima, 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Cardozo, 0-0-0-0.00
Clayton Sellars, 0-0-0-0.00
Silvano Alves, 0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0.00
Casey Coulter, 0-0-0-0.00
Brandon Davis, 0-0-0-0.00
Francisco Morales, 0-0-0-0.00
Sam Woodall, 0-0-0-0.00

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