Eduardo Aparecido wins opening round of the 2024 PBR World Finals – Eliminations at Cowtown Coliseum to overtake the No. 2 rank, as fellow Top 5 riders John Crimber and Dalton Kasel buck off

By Kacie Albert

FORT WORTH, Texas – As the historic 2024 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) World Finals: Unleash The Beast got underway Thursday evening in Fort Worth, Texas, with Eliminations, Cassio Dias’s (Sao F. de Sales, Brazil) dominance continued as the Brazilian phenom tied for second in Round 1 to further his grasp on the No. 1 rank in the race for this season’s World Championship.

During PBR World Finals – Eliminations, each of the 45 competing bull riders will attempt one bull nightly. Following the four rounds of action, the Top 15 in the Unleash The Beast standings and Top 5 in the Eliminations aggregate not already advancing will directly punch their ticket to the 2024 PBR World Finals – Championship on May 18-19 in nearby Arlington at AT&T Stadium, which will crown the 2024 World Champion and World Finals event winner.

As the last man to leave the chutes, Dias was tasked with Sava (Risen Cattle Co.). Despite some difficulties in the chute, Dias nodded with confidence, erupting into the arena of the historic Cowtown Coliseum. While he appeared to have slapped the bull past the 6-second mark, Dias celebrated what he believed to be a qualified ride. After careful review, PBR’s officials did not discover a slap, awarding Dias an 86.75-point score.

The 8-second effort earned Dias a crucial 46 Unleash The Beast points.

The silver showing allowed Dias to remain in firm control of the No. 1 rank in the race for the 2024 PBR World Championship. However, his lead shrunk slightly as Eduardo Aparecido (Gouvelandia, Brazil) won Round 1.

Aparecido was a near picture of perfection atop Down Payment (Joe & Nina Webb/Zane Walker/BS Cattle Co.), conquering the powerful animal athlete for an unrivaled 87.75 points. The top score garnered Aparecido a check for $35,000 in addition to 88 Unleash The Beast points.

Chasing his first gold buckle, Aparecido rose from No. 4 to No. 2 in the standings. He is now within 552.33 points of No. 1 Dias. Dias began his career-first World Finals 560.5 points ahead of then-No. 2 John Crimber (Decatur, Texas).

Elsewhere in the Top 5, both Crimber and Dalton Kasel (Muleshoe, Texas) failed to convert as the 2024 PBR World Finals began. Crimber was tossed by Thriller (McCoy Rodeo/Jacobson) in 6.77 seconds, while Kasel was unseated by Heavy Lifting (Stockyards Pro Rodeo/Winston/Melton Bull Co.) in 3.81 seconds.

Crimber slipped from No. 2 to No. 3 in the standings as the 18-year-old sensation attempts to become the youngest PBR World Champion in history. He is now 606.5 points back of No. 1 Dias.

Kasel also fell one position, from No. 3 to No. 4, now trailing top-ranked Dias by 617.33 points.

While he remained No. 5 in the World Championship race, Alan de Souza (Taubate, Brazil) delivered a sixth-place score in Round 1 of Eliminations. His 82.75-point ride aboard Rip (Wacey Hart/TNT Bucking Bulls) garnered him 32 Unleash The Beast points. He’s now 651.33 points back of No. 1 Dias.

Returning to the top of the round leaderboard, Kaiden Loud (Kaufman, Texas) tied for second in Round 1 as he made his debut at bull riding’s crown jewel. Dominating Black Betty (Deatherage/Peoples Cattle Co.) for 86.75 points, Loud garnered 46 Unleash The Beast points.

Loud rose five positions in the standings, climbing from No. 20 to No. 15, now inside the coveted threshold to advance directly to the final stage of World Finals inside the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys.

Dawson Branton (Jefferson, Oregon) was the first rider to convert at the 2024 PBR World Finals, with his 84.25-point ride on Zeus (Blake Sharp/Michael Floyd) the fourth-best of Round 1 of Eliminations.

The Oregonian earned 40 Unleash The Beast points, rising from No. 48 to No. 44 in the standings.

Rounding out the Top 5 in Round 1 of Eliminations was Leonardo Castro (Cassilandia, Brazil).

Castro made the requisite 8 atop Double 00 Buck (Diamond L Cattle) for 84 points to collect 36 Unleash The Beast points. He rose one position in the standings, from No. 12 to No. 11.

The 2024 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast – Eliminations continues with Round 2 on Friday, May 10 at 6:45 p.m. CDT. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at PBR.com/WorldFinals, CowtownColiseum.com and AXS.com, or by phone at 1-800-732-1727.  

PBR RidePass on Pluto TV 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. Click here for on-demand PBR programming.

PBR Unleash The Beast
2024 PBR World Finals – Eliminations
Cowtown Coliseum – Fort Worth, Texas
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Eduardo Aparecido, 87.75-0-0-0-87.75-88 Points.
2. Cassio Dias, 86.75-0-0-0-86.75-46 Points.

(tie). Kaiden Loud, 86.75-0-0-0-86.75-46 Points.

4. Dawson Branton, 84.25-0-0-0-84.25-40 Points.
5. Leonardo Castro, 84-0-0-0-84.00-36 Points.
6. Alan de Souza, 82.75-0-0-0-82.75-32 Points.
7. Vitor Losnake, 42.5-0-0-0-42.50-20 Points.

John Crimber, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Dalton Kasel, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Koltin Hevalow, 0-0-0-0-0.00

João Ricardo Vieira, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Brady Fielder, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Caden Bunch, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Kaique Pacheco, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Thiago Salgado, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Julio Cesar Marques, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Cody Jesus, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Cort McFadden, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Alex Cerqueira, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Keyshawn Whitehorse, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Daylon Swearingen, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Sage Steele Kimzey, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Felipe Furlan, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Boudreaux Campbell, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Ednélio Almeida, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Wyatt Rogers, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Jesse Petri, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Mason Taylor, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Bob Mitchell, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Conner Halverson, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Ezekiel Mitchell, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Kyler Oliver, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Andrew Alvidrez, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Callum Miller, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Silvano Alves, 0-0-0-0-0.00

JaCauy Hale, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Jake Morinec, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Lucas Divino, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Dener Barbosa, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-0-0-0-0.00

Grayson Cole, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Qynn Andersen, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Jean Fernandes Pereira, 0-0-0-0-0.00

2024 PBR Unleash The Beast Standings

(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5’s, Points, Total Winnings)

1. Cassio Dias, 24, 7, 9, 1,566.33, $436,274.00
2. Eduardo Aparecido, 22, 2, 5, 1,014.00, $257,909.81
3. John Crimber, 22, 1, 9, 959.83, $221,132.00
4. Dalton Kasel, 20, 1, 9, 949.00, $203,629.00
5. Alan de Souza, 22, 2, 7, 915.00, $205,016.81
6. Koltin Hevalow, 25, 1, 6, 541.50, $104,434.67
7. Austin Richardson, 8, 2, 3, 533.50, $188,437.00
8. João Ricardo Vieira, 20, 1, 4, 504.00, $103,401.67
9. Brady Fielder, 24, 2, 5, 466.16, $94,486.81
10. Caden Bunch, 18, 2, 3, 430.83, $110,764.17
11. Leonardo Castro, 13, 1, 2, 422.50, $133,407.14
12. Kaique Pacheco, 16, 0, 3, 389.33, $54,806.00
13. Thiago Salgado, 15, 1, 2, 374.00, $88,828.33
14. Julio Cesar Marques, 23, 0, 3, 371.32, $46,893.00
15. Kaiden Loud, 22, 0, 3, 366.00, $47,709.00
16. Cody Jesus, 16, 0, 3, 338.50, $60,003.00
17. Cort McFadden, 16, 0, 2, 338.00, $33,201.67
18. Alex Cerqueira, 23, 0, 3, 337.50, $47,025.00
19. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 17, 0, 3, 328.66, $44,760.33
20. Daylon Swearingen, 23, 0, 2, 326.00, $37,774.00
21. Sage Steele Kimzey, 13, 0, 2, 279.00, $48,783.83
22. Wingson Henrique da Silva, 15, 1, 3, 272.83, $61,151.00
23. Vitor Losnake, 21, 0, 2, 272.50, $26,414.81
24. Felipe Furlan, 19, 0, 2, 256.00, $37,389.00
25. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 21, 0, 0, 240.00, $27,513.33
26. Clay Guiton, 10, 0, 3, 238.66, $32,232.33
27. Boudreaux Campbell, 22, 0, 1, 233.50, $23,143.00
28. Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 24, 0, 2, 233.50, $24,981.98
29. Ednélio Almeida, 23, 0, 2, 231.00, $20,479.50
30. Wyatt Rogers, 17, 0, 2, 225.50, $28,183.81
31. Jesse Petri, 21, 0, 0, 216.00, $22,553.00
32. Mason Taylor, 13, 0, 1, 207.50, $29,418.33
33. Jose Vitor Leme, 6, 0, 1, 200.00, $23,913.67
34. Bob Mitchell, 23, 0, 1, 196.00, $13,645.14
35. Conner Halverson, 23, 0, 1, 194.00, $17,005.29
36. Ezekiel Mitchell, 16, 0, 2, 185.50, $23,652.00
37. Kyler Oliver, 11, 0, 2, 178.33, $25,849.67
38. Andrew Alvidrez, 14, 0, 2, 158.33, $22,491.81
39. Marco Rizzo, 7, 0, 2, 147.83, $22,738.48
40. Callum Miller, 14, 0, 1, 147.50, $19,500.00
41. Luciano De Castro, 14, 0, 0, 137.33, $14,353.33
42. Silvano Alves, 17, 0, 0, 112.50, $7,275.00
43. Eli Vastbinder, 16, 0, 0, 105.83, $4,550.00
44. Dawson Branton, 9, 0, 0, 105.00, $6,410.00
45. Braidy Randolph, 5, 0, 0, 92.50, $10,321.33