TULSA – As an electric Sooner State crowd watched on Saturday evening, Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil) won his first PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Unleash The Beast event of the 2024 season, capping his perfect 3-for-3 performance with a monster 90-point championship round ride to claim victory at the Express Ranches PBR, presented by Hard Rock Hotel & Casino – Tulsa.
Vieira, who was part of the 2023 PBR Teams Champion Texas Rattlers in the separate PBR Teams league, first put points on the board in Round 1 when he covered Whiplash (Blake Sharp/Floyd Lowry/ CIS & Traci Lee) for 86.75
event leaderboard, Vieira then surged to the top position when he rode Bamboozle (Farris Cattle/Big Schott Rodeo) for 87.75 points in Round 2.
With the first pick in the championship round bull draft, Vieira elected to go head-to-head with 2023 ABBI (American Bucking Bulls Inc.) Classic World Champion Flyin Wired (Tommy Julian/
BS Cattle Co.).
Vieira nodded confidently, remaining in perfect time with the animal athlete as he reached the requisite 8 with ease. Marked a monstrous 91.75 points, the mammoth ride clinched Vieira the event win, tying him with Gary Richard (Houston, Texas) as the oldest rider to win a premier series event at age 39.
The golden showing garnered Vieira a check for $48,535, along with a crucial 141.5 Unleash The Beast points. Chasing his first World Championship, Vieira rose from No. 19 to No. 5 in the standings, inching within 406.5 points of the No. 1 rank.
Cassio Dias (Sao F. de Sales, Brazil) extended his lead atop the standings courtesy of a sixthplace finish in Tulsa.
The Kansas City Outlaws sensation was third in Round 1, covering Lansky (Grin/ Jacobson/McCoy Rodeo) for 87.75 points. However, his momentum came to an end in Round 2 when he was tossed by Canadianborn Norse God (Jane Clark/Gene Owen) in 4.43 seconds.
Quick to rebound, Dias concluded the event with a score, making the whistle on twotime reigning YETI PBR World Champion Bull Ridin’ Solo (Bill McCarty/McCoy Rodeo) for a commanding 90.75 points.
Dias earned 45 Unleash The Beast points, extending his lead over No. 2 Austin Richardson (Dallas, Texas) to 123 points. After winning Round 1, Richardson was shut out on Championship Saturday, ultimately concluding the event 10th and earning 30 Unleash The Beast points.
Rookie sensation John Crimber (Decatur, Texas) finished a career-best second in Tulsa, collecting 84.5 Unleash The Beast points.
In Round 1, Crimber made a business decision, declining the option of a second re-ride after covering Tijuana Two-Step (Blake Sharp/ Michael Floyd) for 76.75 points.
Crimber, positioned 17th on the event leaderboard, then took on Mikey’s Surprise (Hart Cattle Co./Hale) in Round 2. Delivering his second score in as many attempts, Crimber was marked 85.5 points to catapult to second in the event.
For his final bovine athlete opponent, Crimber architected a showdown with Chateau Montelena’s Montana Jacket (Vella/ Coleman/Ogden/Hart). Crimber erupted from the chutes, remaining centered atop the powerful animal athlete as the buzzer sounded and the crowd erupted in raucous cheer.
Crimber was scored 91.5 points, tying for his career-best score across all levels of PBR competition and marking his first 90-point ride in Unleash The Beast competition.
The 18-year-old phenom rose from No. 32 to No. 13 in the Unleash The Beast standings.
Third was the Kansas City Outlaws’ Wingson Henrique da Silva (Navirai, Brazil).
As the final rider to go a flawless 3-for-3, Silva rode White Dino (Copper Creek Bucking Bulls/G&K Cattle/Winrock) for 78.25 points in Round 1 and Jersey Tuff (Mc-CLellan/Lidgard/ Hart) for 78.5 points in Round 2 before delivering a powerful 90-point ride in the championship round on Ricky Vaughn (D&H Cattle Co./Buck Cattle Co.).
Silva is now ranked No. 19 in the 2024 PBR World Championship race after traveling to Tulsa ranked No. 34.
Rounding out the Top 5 was young gun Clay Guiton (Cherryville, North Carolina) in fifth.
While Guiton was bucked off in the opening round of just his second career Unleash The Beast event, bested by Triple Aught (Addi Drury/Nothin’ But Try/Diggers) in 2.17 seconds, he returned on Championship Saturday with newfound confidence.
In Round 2, Guiton was a near picture of perfection on Punchy Pete (Crescent City Bucking Bulls/Lari Crane/Gene Owen), reaching the 8 for a monstrous 90 points.
Guiton then continued to set career firsts in the championship round, when he delivered his career-best score in Unleash The Beast competition, riding Bandito Bug (Chris Utz/Carey Brothers/ Mike Chaney/Blake Sharp) for 90.25 points.
Guiton left Oklahoma with 51 Unleash The Beast points, rising from unranked to No. 36 in the series standings.
In the bull pen, Man Hater (Jane Clark/Gene Owen) showed the crowd just why he’s the current No. 1 ranked bull in the world. Scored a commanding 46.25 points in the championship round for his 4.63 seconds of work against the Texas Rattlers’ Braidy Fielder (Clermont, Queensland, Australia), the powerful bovine earned his PBR-best seventh YETI “Built for the Wild” Bull of the event title.
The Express Ranches PBR Tulsa, presented by Hard Rock Hotel & Casino – Tulsa, also featured the return of Dana White’s Twisted Steel (Dana White/ DD Bucking Bulls). Out in Round 2, Dana White’s Twisted Steel improved to a perfect 3-0 against Victor Losnake (Bauru, Brazil), tossing the Arizona Ridge Rider in 2.48 seconds to earn a 43-point bull score.
The PBR Unleash The Beast next travels to the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas, for the Kubota PBR Houston, presented by Michelob ULTRA. The event is on Friday, January 26, at 7:45 p.m. CT and Saturday, January 27, at 6:45 p.m. CT.
