(Editor's note: PBR release)
LAS VEGAS – Regarded as the “Championship before the Championship,” world No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil) inched one step closer to etching his name in the PBR record books Sunday evening at the 2019 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals. Winning the season-culminating event for the league’s premier expansion series en route to capturing the coveted 2019 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Championship, Leme left South Point Arena & Equestrian Center with a firmer hold atop the world standings, now 749.16 points ahead of No. 2 Jess Lockwood (Volborg, Montana) before the 2019 PBR Unleash The Beast World Finals on Nov. 6-10.
After tying for fourth in Round 1 of the event with an 87.5-point ride aboard Little Joe (JD Nix Rodeo Co.), the pressure on the Brazilian’s shoulders was heightened following his 5.92-second buckoff of Just Another Gangster (Scott Winston/Melton Bull Co.) in Round 2.
No stranger to rising to the occasion in Sin City, Leme seized the moment in the championship round, covering Sugar Boom Boom (Cornwell Bucking Bulls/Circle G) for a massive, and event best, 89.5 points.
The finish propelled the 2017 PBR Rookie of the Year to a $79,100 payday, but more importantly netted him 297.5 world points. After entering the event with a 496.66-point lead over No. 2 Lockwood (Volborg, Montana), he will now enter the 2019 PBR World Finals with a 749.16-point lead.
The success at the 2019 edition of the Velocity Tour Finals is yet another awe-inspiring performance by Leme in Sin City. In 2017, invited as the season’s PBR Brazil Champion, Leme used a 3-for-4 performance to capture the international invite bid to PBR World Finals, where he then made history. Delivering a flawless 6-for-6 performance, Leme was propelled to not only the World Finals event win, but also the Rookie of the Year title.
In 2018, Leme went 1-for-3 at the Velocity Tour Finals before going 4-for-6 at the PBR World Finals, concluding the year No. 2 in the world, a mere 422.5 points behind World ChampionKaique Pacheco.
Regarded as “Mr. Las Vegas,” Leme is now 16-for-22 (72.72%) at the season-culminating events inside South Point Arena & Equestrian Center and T-Mobile Arena.
The 2019 Touring Pro Division Champion, Lockwood also competed at the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals.
After finishing third in Round 1 with an 88-point ride on Hammered Down (Davis Rodeo Ranch/D&H Cattle), the 2017 PBR World Championship didn’t reach the 8-second mark aboard either of his draws on Championship Sunday, bested by Just AL (CO Cattle/Whisnant/Williams Equine) in an ever-close 7.71 seconds in Round 2, and Rebel Call (Torres Brothers Bucking Bulls LLC) in an equally heartbreaking 7.31 seconds in the final round. Lockwood finished the event eighth overall to earn $4,100 and 45 world points.
In addition to crowning a finals event winner and tour champion, five riders earned berths to the 2019 PBR World Finals courtesy of their performance.
PBR Brazil invite Leandro Machado (Nova Esperanca, Brazil) advanced to the most prestigious event in bull riding as the top-finishing international invite. The 22-year-old’s 10th-place effort was backed by an 86.5-point trip aboard Hot Spots (Shuler Bucking Bulls) in Round 1.
Ramon de Lima (Rio Branco, Brazil), Austin Richardson (Stephenville, Texas), Ouncie Mitchell(Fresno, Texas) and Daniel Tinsman (Farmland, Indiana) also advanced to the PBR World Finals courtesy of their rankings in the 2019 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour standings.
For Lima, who concluded the season No. 3 in the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour standings, his third consecutive qualification to the PBR World Finals comes after an incredible second-half surge.
Slipping to No. 108 in the world, Lima used three Top-10 finishes on the Velocity Tour in consecutive weekends, capped by a win in Huntington, West Virginia, to make his triumphant return to the Unleash The Beast for the final two regular-season events of the year, and is now ranked No. 41 in the world.
Richardson concluded the season No. 6 in the Velocity Tour Standings, capping his year with a runner-up finish at the 2019 Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals.
Going 2-for-3, Richardson was perfect on Championship Sunday, winning Round 2 with an 87.5-point effort aboard Tarabull (Rockin T Ranch), before covering Arctic Assassin (Phenom Genetics/Swalin/Sankey Pro Rodeo) for 88 points in the championship round. The finish netted him a massive $24,600 and 255 world points. He is now ranked No. 57 in the world ahead of his first trip to the PBR World Finals.
Mitchell earned the chance to compete alongside cousin Ezekiel Mitchell (Rockdale, Texas) after finishing 2019 as the No. 8-ranked rider in the Velocity Tour standings. His season was highlighted by three runner-up efforts, along with two additional Top-10 finishes.
Rounding out the contingent of qualifiers set to compete at the PBR World Finals, Tinsman finished the season No. 9 in the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour standings. Part of the talent-packed Rookie of the Year class, the 23-year-old recorded two Velocity Tour wins in Toledo, Ohio, and Worcester, Massachusetts.
Round 2 of the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals also concluded the American Bucking Bull Inc. (ABBI) Derby and Wild Card Classic competitions. Throughout the past two days, 90 3-year-old Derby bulls and 3- and 4-year-old Wild Card bulls went head-to-head in hopes of securing their spot at the top.
Midnight Rock (Cord & Sara McCoy) held onto his lead in the Derby with an 89-point performance for a payout just under $26,000. Blessed (Halpain/Hackett) earned more than $15,000 for second place with 88.8 points while 2L (Pritchett Ranch/Melton Bull Co) posted 88.6 points for third place and more than $12,000.
Silver Back (Mason/Smith Bucking Bulls) earned the Wild Card Classic title with 89.8 points for $14,700 in earnings. Do Wa Diddy (Andrews Rodeo Co) picked up 89.4 points for a second-place finish and $8,850. Piston Hurricane (Symons Bucking Bulls) took third place with 88.2 points earning $6,750 and a three-way tie for fourth place between Red Bones (M Rafter E Bucking Bulls), Ronnie Chism’s Rockey – who led the Wild Card leaderboard after day one – and Floyds 622 (Frontier Rodeo) with 88 points apiece to collect just under $4,550 each.
Fans can relive all the action from the 2019 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals at 8:00 a.m. ET on Monday, November 4 at RidePass.com or via the RidePass mobile app.
The Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour will launch its 2020 season with concurrent events in Jacksonville, Florida, and Oakland, California, on Saturday, January 4.
PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour
2019 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals
South Point Arena & Equestrian Center – Las Vegas, Nevada
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Jose Vitor Leme, 87.5-0-89.5-177.00-297.5 Points.
2. Austin Richardson, 0-87.5-88-175.50-255 Points.
3. Luciano De Castro, 88.5-84-0-172.50-125 Points.
4. Matt Triplett, 84.5-86.5-0-171.00-90 Points.
5. Mason Taylor, 82.5-86-0-168.50-57.5 Points.
6. J.B. Mauney, 81-72-0-153.00-25 Points.
7. Kache Moosman, 89-0-0-89.00-100 Points.
8. Jess Lockwood, 88-0-0-88.00-45 Points.
9. Claudio Montanha Jr., 87.5-0-0-87.50-27.5 Points.
10. Dylan Smith, 0-86.5-0-86.50-42.5 Points.
(tie). Leandro Machado, 86.5-0-0-86.50-12.5 Points.
12. Cody Nance, 0-86-0-86.00-17.5 Points.
(tie). Bryan Titman, 86-0-0-86.00-5 Points.
14. Daylon Swearingen, 85.5-0-0-85.50
15. Scottie Knapp, 85-0-0-85.00
(tie). Francisco Garcia Torres, 85-0-0-85.00
17. Alisson De Souza, 0-84.5-0-84.50-7.5 Points.
(tie). Brennon Eldred, 84.5-0-0-84.50
(tie). Keyshawn Whitehorse, 84.5-0-0-84.50
(tie). Lane Mellers, 0-84.5-0-84.50-7.5 Points.
21. Lucas Divino, 83.5-0-0-83.50
22. Taylor Toves, 83-0-0-83.00
(tie). Daniel Tinsman, 83-0-0-83.00
24. Alan de Souza, 82-0-0-82.00
25. Cody Rodeo Tyler, 0-81-0-81.00
Chase Outlaw, 0-0-0-0.00
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0.00
Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0.00
Michael Lane, 0-0-0-0.00
Ramon de Lima, 0-0-0-0.00
Junio Quaresima, 0-0-0-0.00
Lawson Nobbs, 0-0-0-0.00
Shay Marks, 0-0-0-0.00
Brady Sims, 0-0-0-0.00
Ruger Piva, 0-0-0-0.00
Marcus Mast, 0-0-0-0.00
Ouncie Mitchell, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Casper, 0-0-0-0.00
Paulo Ferreira Lima, 0-0-0-0.00
Jake Lockwood, 0-0-0-0.00
Devon Weaver, 0-0-0-0.00
Leonardo Lima, 0-0-0-0.00
Lindomar Lino, 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Cardozo, 0-0-0-0.00
Luis Blanco, 0-0-0-0.00
Junio Patrick Souza, 0-0-0-0.00
Lucas Fideles Souza, 0-0-0-0.00
Eli Miller, 0-0-0-0.00
Dakota Louis, 0-0-0-0.00
2019 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Standings
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5's, Points, Total Winnings)
1. Jose Vitor Leme, 6, 4, 5, 1,017.50, $103,970.00
2. Taylor Toves, 14, 2, 3, 517.50, $19,280.00
3. Ramon de Lima, 14, 1, 3, 437.50, $15,296.67
4. Danilo Carlos Sobrinho, 6, 1, 3, 432.50, $25,553.35
5. Marco Eguchi, 4, 1, 3, 415.00, $13,092.22
6. Austin Richardson, 12, 0, 3, 398.33, $29,700.00
7. Dylan Smith, 10, 1, 2, 367.50, $12,550.00
8. Ouncie Mitchell, 16, 0, 3, 360.83, $14,790.00
9. Daniel Tinsman, 8, 2, 2, 350.00, $14,450.00
9. Alan de Souza, 9, 2, 2, 350.00, $13,866.67
11. Michael Lane, 17, 1, 3, 310.00, $10,576.67
12. Mason Taylor, 6, 0, 4, 305.00, $16,530.00
13. Bryan Titman, 22, 0, 5, 289.16, $13,131.67
14. Cody Rodeo Tyler, 19, 0, 5, 286.66, $14,173.33
15. Stormy Wing, 11, 1, 2, 275.00, $10,230.16
16. Junio Quaresima, 11, 1, 2, 265.00, $12,490.00
17. Devon Weaver, 14, 0, 3, 261.66, $11,133.33
18. Paulo Ferreira Lima, 18, 0, 4, 260.00, $21,048.30
19. Ezekiel Mitchell, 8, 1, 2, 250.00, $8,250.00
20. Daylon Swearingen, 6, 1, 2, 240.00, $13,065.00
21. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 5, 1, 2, 235.00, $9,656.67
21. Koal Livingston, 3, 1, 1, 235.00, $9,136.14
23. Joe Frost, 8, 1, 1, 232.50, $9,096.68
24. Kache Moosman, 18, 0, 2, 231.66, $13,668.33
25. Lindomar Lino, 23, 0, 4, 230.00, $10,100.00
25. Derek Kolbaba, 4, 1, 1, 230.00, $9,943.45
27. Marcus Mast, 15, 0, 2, 220.00, $7,700.00
28. Luis Blanco, 19, 0, 3, 216.25, $16,326.19
29. Alex Cardozo, 19, 1, 2, 212.50, $10,982.22
29. Ruger Piva, 6, 1, 1, 212.50, $6,520.00
31. Scottie Knapp, 11, 1, 2, 210.00, $9,160.00
32. Leonardo Lima, 20, 0, 2, 206.66, $8,026.67
33. Lucas Fideles Souza, 19, 0, 3, 198.33, $10,023.33
34. Dalton Krantz, 3, 0, 2, 196.25, $8,250.00
35. Cody Nance, 2, 1, 1, 192.50, $26,807.25
36. Brady Sims, 14, 1, 1, 180.00, $7,150.00
37. Jake Lockwood, 15, 0, 1, 177.50, $6,252.22
38. Eli Miller, 17, 0, 2, 175.00, $7,700.00
38. Aaron Kleier, 3, 1, 1, 175.00, $8,200.00
40. Lawson Nobbs, 5, 1, 1, 172.50, $8,300.00
41. Junio Patrick Souza, 5, 1, 1, 170.00, $5,680.00
42. Jess Lockwood, 3, 0, 1, 150.00, $14,060.26
43. Ueberson Duarte, 10, 0, 2, 145.00, $7,650.00
43. Silvano Alves, 5, 0, 2, 145.00, $6,600.00
43. João Ricardo Vieira, 5, 0, 2, 145.00, $7,400.00
