LAS VEGAS – Ahead of the 2019 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Unleash The Beast World Finals, the 40-man field set to ride inside T-Mobile Arena on Nov. 6-10 has been announced, with two Canadians, Dakota Buttar (Kindersley, Saskatchewan) and Jared Parsonage (Maple Creek, Saskatchewan) qualifying to the most prestigious event in bull riding.
Two-time Glen Keeley Award winner Buttar leads the duo, set to make his fourth consecutive appearance at the PBR World Finals.
Presently ranked No. 27 in the world, the Saskatchewan man went 20-for-49 (40.82%) during the Unleash The Beast regular season, recording five Top-10 efforts, including a seventh-place and tenth-place finish at the Major events in Nashville and Los Angeles, respectively.
Buttar gained significant ground in the world rankings courtesy of his dominance on home soil, which led him to briefly hold the No. 1 ranking in the Canadian national standings. Winning a league-leading five PBR Canada events, he amassed 445 world points in going an impressive 25-for-39 (64.1%). He is currently No. 2 in the national standings, a slim 32.49 points behind leader Parsonage.
For Parsonage, the qualification will mark his first berth to the PBR World Finals.
Regarded as one of Canada’s most consistent riders, going 36-for-62 (58.06%) on home soil in 2019, the 26-year-old is not only atop the national standings, but is also No. 39 in the world.
In Canadian competition, Parsonage won a league-best two Monster Energy Tour events, in Lethbridge, Alberta and Halifax, Nova Scotia, in addition to collecting 14 additional Top-5 efforts,
The 2019 season also bore witness to the Maple Creek man’s Unleash The Beast debut. After making his first appearance on the PBR’s premier series in January in Glendale, Arizona, he made two additional appearances during the Unleash The Beast second half in Anaheim, California, and Fairfax, Virginia.
Buttar and Parsonage’s qualification comes on the heels of 10 Canadian bulls being selected by PBR Livestock Director Cody Lambert to buck at the PBR World Finals.
Those bulls are: Happy Camper (Two Bit Bucking Bulls), Catch My Drift (Two Bit Bucking Bulls/K Rose Ranch), Tykro Pound Sand (Wild Hoggs/Corey Chmelnyk), Fish Camp (Outlaw Buckers Rodeo Corp.), Dilligaff (Outlaw Buckers Rodeo Corp.), Wild Child (Outlaw Buckers Rodeo Corp.), Come On Over (Vold Rodeo/Prescott), Big City Nights (Vold Rodeo), Homegrown (Eno Bucking Bulls) and Finning Lil Shorty (Flying Four Bucking Bulls).
PBR also revealed the World Finals bullfighters that will take to the dirt to protect the best bull riders in the world. Canada’s own Jesse Byrne will return to the event, joined by Veterans Shorty Gorham, Frank Newsom and Cody Webster.
With only 1,793.16 points separating the Top 3 riders heading into the 2019 PBR Unleash The Beast World Finals, slated to take over T-Mobile Arena from Nov. 6-10, the five days of action portends to be one of the most fiercely contested World Championship races in PBR history.
The 2019 season has kept fans on the edge of their seats with intense ups and downs, as the world title race has dramatically unfolded. Each of the top three ranked bull riders have held the world No. 1 ranking throughout the 26-week season. As the top bull riders in the world take to the dirt to challenge the rankest bulls on the planet, the competition will reach an all-time high with a million dollars and the coveted gold buckle on the line.
Historically, any rider within 2,000 world points of the world No. 1 ranking at the start of the World Finals is a legitimate contender for the season’s World Championship. With 3,300 points available across the five days of competition, the championship is truly up for grabs among this year’s top three PBR cowboys.>
After a back-and-forth epic battle throughout the season, the field is led by No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme, recording an elite tour best 18 round wins. Hot on Leme’s heels is 2017 PBR World Champion Jess Lockwood, trailing the 23-year-old Brazilian by a slim 749.16 points. Lockwood leads No. 3 Chase Outlaw by 703.33 points. Illustrative of their dominance in 2019, each of the Top 3-ranked riders, Leme (Duluth, Albuquerque, Anaheim, Springfield), Lockwood (New York City, Chicago, Tulsa, Houston) and Outlaw (St. Louis, Kansas City, Cheyenne, Fairfax) have each won a league-best four regular-season, premier series event titles.
The tour’s Top 5 is rounded out by No. 4 Joao Ricardo Vieira (-2,496.66) and No. 5 Cooper Davis (-3,241.66) who after winning the PBR World Finals event title in 2015, captured the PBR Word Championship in 2016.
In the Rookie of the Year race, just 499 points separate the top three contenders heading into World Finals week. Standings leader Dalton Kasel, who took the season by storm quickly climbing the rankings from No. 43 to No. 7 in three months’ time after making his debut in Tulsa, will look to maintain his No. 1 ranking, while No.2 Daylon Swearingen and No. 3 Mason Taylor will be on the hunt to erase the Texan’s 410.41 and 498.75-point leads, respectively.
The 35 qualifiers via the world standings who will put it all on the line in the heart of the Las Vegas Strip for a chance at collecting their share of the more than $2.5 million in prize money are:
Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil)
Jess Lockwood (Volborg, Montana)
Chase Outlaw (Hamburg, Arkansas)
Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil)
Cooper Davis (Jasper, Texas)
Cody Teel (Kountze, Texas)
Dalton Kasel (Muleshoe, Texas)
Luciano De Castro (Guzolandia, Brazil)
Marco Eguchi (Poa, Brazil)
Derek Kolbaba (Walla Walla, Washington)
Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York)
Mason Taylor (Maypearl, Texas)
Alisson De Souza (Taubate, Brazil)
Ezekiel Mitchell (Rockdale, Texas)
Ryan Dirteater (Hulbert, Oklahoma)
Lucas Divino (Nova Crixas, Brazil)
Matt Triplett (Columbia Falls, Montana)
Claudio Montanha Jr. (Pacaembu, Brazil)
Cody Jesus (Window Rock, Arizona)
Stetson Lawrence (Williston, North Dakota)
Cody Nance (Paris, Tennessee)
Alan de Souza (Taubate, Brazil)
Taylor Toves (Stephenville, Texas)
Dakota Buttar (Kindersley, Saskatchewan, Canada)
J.B. Mauney (Statesville, North Carolina)
Eduardo Aparecido (Gouvelandia, Brazil)
Joe Frost (Randlett, Utah)
Keyshawn Whitehorse (McCracken Springs, Utah)
Rubens Barbosa (Iaciara, Brazil)
Michael Lane (Tazewell, Virginia)
Brady Fielder (Clermont, Queensland, Australia)
Cliff Richardson (Gresford, New South Wales, Australia)
Dylan Smith (Ararat, Virginia)
Scottie Knapp (Edgewood, New Mexico)
Jared Parsonage (Maple Creek, Saskatchewan, Canada)
While two-time PBR Word Champion Mauney qualified for the most prestigious event in bull riding, he is tentative pending injuries sustained at this past weekend’s Pendleton Whiskey Velocity Tour Finals. Should Mauney ride this will mark the grizzled veteran’s 14th consecutive qualification for World Finals. The first alternate is Colten Jesse (Konawa, Oklahoma).
Joining these 35 men at World Finals are the five qualifiers from the Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour (PWVT).
Leandro Machado (Nova Esperanca, Brazil) earned his spot as the top finishing international invite from this past weekend’s PWVT Finals. Ramon de Lima (Rio Branco, Brazil), Ouncie Mitchell (Fresno, Texas), Austin Richardson (Stephenville, Texas) and Daniel Tinsman (Farmland, Indiana) also punched their ticket to compete.
Each rider will ride one bull per night during Rounds 1-5 from Wednesday through Sunday. Scores from the five rides will then be combined, and the Top 15 riders will advance to the championship round following the completion of Round 5 on Sunday, Nov. 10. The rider with the highest total score from the six rounds will earn the PBR World Finals event title and $300,000.
For more information on the PBR World Finals Nov. 6-10 at T-Mobile Arena, please visit www.pbrworldfinals.com.
CBS Sports Network will broadcast every round of the PBR World Finals live at 10 p.m. ET, Wednesday-Thursday, 11 p.m. Friday-Saturday and then at 4 p.m. on Sunday.
The action will also be available for streaming online at www.ridepass.com. Live streaming will begin at 9:30 p.m. ET Wednesday-Thursday, 10:30 p.m. Friday, 10:10 p.m. Saturday and then at 3:30 p.m. on Sunday.
