For the fifth time in the 2021 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Unleash The Beast season, 2018 PBR World Champion Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil) stood atop the Can-Am Cage victorious. Pacheco made the most of this afternoon in Deadwood with his chance to pick up points in the 2021 PBR championship race on injured world No. 1 rider Jose Vitor Leme.
To punctuate his 3-for-3 weekend at the historic Deadwood Events Complex in the Black Hills of South Dakota, Pacheco delivered a walk-off 90-point ride to win the PBR Monster Energy Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires.
To begin Sunday afternoon of the two-day event, the 27-year-old Brazilian phenom was paired against Air Tight Alibi in Round 2. Launching from the chutes, Pacheco was in complete control. The 86.75-point ride score punched his ticket to the championship round.
Pacheco then selected Medicine Man as his opponent in the championship round.
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Despite a few setbacks in the chutes and being pushed to the last ride of the day, Pacheco was his normal stone-faced self and ready for his matchup. The South Dakota crowd braced for the possibility of a walk-off win on the last ride of the day.
As the clock raced closer to the 8, the fans’ cheers rose to a roar. As the buzzer sounded and judges reviewed his ride, Pacheco calmly strode about the dirt collecting the celebratory cowboy hats launched into the arena by his friends including three-time PBR World Champion Silvano Alves (Pilar do Sul, Brazil).
The crowd was on its feet as his 91-point score was announced.
Pacheco’s championship-round score was his fifth 90-point ride of the 2021 UTB season.
The former World Champion collected 139.5 world points and a check for $26,019.33.
While reigning World Champion Leme holds tight to the No. 1 spot in the world standings, Pacheco’s weekend in Deadwood helped the steadfast rider chip away at the distance between himself and Leme, who was injured on his event-clinching ride in Newark, N.J. last weekend. Pacheco is now 726.5 points behind Leme, sitting in the No. 2 spot in the world standings.Â
On the leaderboard of the main event, 22-year-old Mauricio Gulla Moreira (Gaviao Peixoto, Brazil) also made his mark in historic Deadwood, going 3-for-3 for a second-place finish on the weekend.
Early on Sunday afternoon, Moreira was paired with King Tut for Round 2. His 85.25-point score paved his way to the championship round.
Moreira then chose Speed Demon in the championship round, riding him for 89.25 points. He had a chance to win the event until Pacheco knocked down his big ride on Medicine Man. For his efforts, the young Brazilian cowboy earned 95 world points and $15,584.10.
Moreira, who began the weekend as the No. 7-ranked rider in the world standings, holds that position.
New York’s Daylon Swearingen went 2-for-3 over the weekend to clinch a third-place finish.
After a sweeping win in Saturday night’s Round 1, Swearingen was matched up with Safety Meeting in Round 2, making the 8 to collect an 88.75-point ride score.
The 22-year-old then chose Switchback for the championship round.
The selection did not go as the young New York cowboy had planned as his bovine competitor dispatched him into the dirt in a mere 4.03 seconds.
Collecting 92 world points and $14,779.39, Swearingen moved from No. 37 in the world standings to No. 29.
2016 PBR World Champion Cooper Davis (Jasper, Texas) finished fourth in Deadwood courtesy of his 2-for-3 weekend in the iconic outdoor arena.
Paired with Blacklist in Round 2, Davis launched from the chutes but was not able to make the buzzer, hitting the ground at 5.62 seconds. Despite the upset, his third-place finish in Saturday’s Round 1 secured his spot in the championship round.
The talented young Texan then selected Cold Chill for the championship round in hopes of catapulting himself to his third event win of the 2021 season.
Despite a score of 88.75 points, he fell just short of that goal but earned 55 world points and $10,274.92 for his weekend.
Davis holds tight to the No. 3 spot in the world standings in his quest for a second world title.
Brazil’s Adriano Salgado (Batatais, Brazil) rounded out the Top 5 of the weekend after a 2-for-3 performance.
Salgado was paired with Bullet Train (Hart Cattle Co/People’s Cattle) in Round 2 but came down hard after a mere 3.65 seconds.
In the championship round, his selection of CopperPoint Swagger had the crowd cheering at full volume as his 87.25-point score was announced.
Despite Salgado’s trouble as Sunday began, he earned 51 world points and $7,743.31, moving from No. 48 in the world standings up to No. 41.Â
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.
The PBR Unleash The Beast next travels to San Antonio, Texas, and The AT&T Center for the PBR U.S. Border Patrol Invitational, presented by Ariat on Saturday, Oct. 2 at 7:45 p.m. CDT and Sunday, Oct. 3 at 12:45 p.m. CDT.
PBR Unleash The Beast - Monster Energy Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires
Deadwood Events ComplexÂ
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Kaique Pacheco, 86-86.75-91-263.75-139.5 Points.
2. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 84.75-85.25-89.25-259.25-95 Points.
3. Daylon Swearingen, 89.5-88.75-0-178.25-92 Points.
4. Cooper Davis, 88-0-88.75-176.75-55 Points.
5. Adriano Salgado, 88.75-0-87.25-176.00-51 Points.
6. Cody Casper, 86-85.25-0-171.25-41 Points.
7. João Ricardo Vieira, 86.25-84.75-0-171.00-34.5 Points.
8. Cody Teel, 0-87.5-0-87.50-23 Points.
9. Silvano Alves, 86.25-0-0-86.25-19.5 Points.
10. Manoelito de Souza Junior, 0-85-0-85.00-16 Points.
11. Derek Kolbaba, 84.75-0-0-84.75-12.5 Points.
12. Andrew Alvidrez, 83.5-0-0-83.50-10 Points.
13. Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-81-0-81.00-12 Points.