Dakota Buttar Second at Columbus Invitational

COLUMBUS, Ohio – Backed by a flawless weekend performance inside the Schottenstein Center on the campus of The Ohio State University, Fabiano Vieira (Perola, Brazil) won his first 25^th PBR: Unleash The Beast event of the season, capturing the title at the Columbus Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires.

After covering Ram It (K-C Bucking Bulls/TCB Ranch) for 86.25 points in the second round on Sunday, the veteran Brazilian surged to the event win when he became the first rider on the PBR (Professional Bull Riders) premier series to make the 8 on Big Black (K-C Bucking Bulls/Joe & Nina Webb). Riding the bovine athlete for 90.75 points, Vieira tied for the win in the Championship Round and won the Columbus Invitational after earning 565 points towards the world standings.

He leaves the Buckeye State with a paycheck for $37,500 and is now ranked No. 12, 1430.83 points behind No. 1 Claudio Montanha Jr. (Pacaembu, Brazil). He began the event 25th in the PBR world standings.

With the victory, his first since last season’s Music City Knockout in August, Vieira became the thirteenth different rider to win on the PBR’s top tour this season.

For the win, Vieira also earned an invite to the Komatsu Equipment Days of ’47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo presented by Zions Bank, July 19-21 and 23-24, set to take place at the $17.5 million state-of-the-art Days of ’47 Arena at the Utah State Fair Park, custom designed and built for rodeo.

Also going a perfect 3-for-3, Dakota Buttar (Kindersley, Saskatchewan, Canada) delivered one of the best performances of his career to finish second. The 2017 Glen Keeley Award winner began the second night of action riding Grey Goose (M Rafter E Bucking Bulls) in Round 2 for 81.75 points.

In the Championship Round, the surging Canadian recorded the first 90-point ride of his career when he was marked 90 points on Inferno (k-C Bucking Bulls/Spark-lin Acres), propelling him to his best finish of the season.

Buttar’s runner-up effort earned him $15,750 and 295 world points. He rose from No. 15 to No. 13 in the world standings where he now trails Montanha Jr. by 1,448.33 points.

Third place went to Ramon de Lima (Sao Paulo, Brazil). The 27-year-old earned $9,600 and 220 world points, helping to tighten the gap with the world No. 1 position, a spot de Lima had held for seven weeks this season, to 85.83 points.

Also covering each of his draws in the elite tour’s first trip back to Columbus in six years, Lima rode Runnin Through the Jungle (JD Nix Rodeo Co.) for 82.75 points in Round 2. He then made the 8 on White Dynomite (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Beger/Clay Struve/Staci Wilks/N Bar Ranch) for 87.5 points in the final round.

Remaining atop the world standings, Montanha Jr. finished fourth to net $10,150 and 160 world points. Failing to record a qualified ride on Saturday’s opening night, the second-year Brazilian was perfect Sunday afternoon, logging an 85.75-point trip on Monster Jam (M Rafter E Bucking Bulls) in Round 2 before tying for the round win in the Championship Round with an 90.75-point effort on Acting Crazy (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve/Staci Wilks/N Bar Ranch).

As the fourth rider to be perfect in Columbus, Cody Nance (Paris, Tennessee) finished fifth. Earning a paycheck for $3,900 and 135 world points, Nance first covered Big Lew (JD Nix Rodeo Co.) for 84.25 points in Round 2, and then lasted the full 8 on Kick Out The Lights (C Check Bucking Bulls) for 82.25 points in the Championship Round.

Old Fort Days (K-C Bucking Bulls/Spark-lin Acres) was named the YETI “Built For The Wild” Bull of the event after earning a bull score of 45.25 points for his 1.54-second buckoff of Cody Campbell (Summerville, Oregon) in the Championship Round.

CBS Sports Network will televise all the action from Championship Sunday, including Round 2 and the Championship Round, starting at 8:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, April 29. Fans will also be able to watch all the action on-demand at 8:00 a.m. ET on Monday, April 30 on RidePass.

The 25^th PBR: Unleash The Beast next travels to Las Vegas, Nevada, and Thomas & Mack Center for the PBR Last Cowboy Standing, presented by Ariat, and the WCRA Rodeo Showdown at Helldorado Days. The event will be on Friday, May 4 at 7:45 p.m. PT (PBR), Saturday, May 5 at 7:45 p.m. PT (PBR and Rodeo), and Sunday, May 6 at 1:45 p.m. PT (Rodeo). Last Cowboy standing is the third Major event of the season, and final 25th PBR: Unleash The Beast event prior to the annual summer break.

Elsewhere in the PBR, on the Real Time Pain Relief Velocity Tour (RVT), Ouncie Mitchell (Fresno, Texas) won the Wichita Classic at INTRUST Bank Arena in Wichita, Kansas.

The 22-year-old led the draw in Round 1, covering White Liar (DAM Cattle Co.) for 86 points. In addition to earning $6,716.67 and 120 world points for his first RVT win, Mitchell has also earned an invite to next weekend’s Last Cowboy Standing and July’s Komatsu Equipment Days of ’47 Cowboy Games & Rodeo presented by Zions Bank.

Real Time Pain Relief Velocity Tour Event Results
Wichita Classic – INTRUST Bank Arena – Wichita, Kansas
Name, Round 1-Round 2 -Aggr. Score-Total Points-Money Earned

1. Ouncie Mitchell, 86-0-86-120-$6,716.67
2. Eudimar Novais, 85-0-85-70-$5,016.67
3. Troy Wilkinson, 84.5-0-84.5-40-$3,316.67
4. Kurt Shephard, 83.5-0-83.5-20-$2,316.67
5. Daylon Swearingen, 82-0-82-15-$1,456.67

25^th PBR: Unleash The Beast
Columbus Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires
Columbus, Ohio – The Schottenstein Center
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Fabiano Vieira, 86-86.25-90.75-263.00-565 Points.
2. Dakota Buttar, 84.5-81.75-90-256.25-295 Points.
3. Ramon de Lima, 82.75-82.75-87.5-253.00-220 Points.
4. Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-85.75-90.75-176.50-160 Points.
5. Cody Nance, 81-84.25-82.25-247.50-135 Points.
6. Sean Willingham, 85-87.25-0-172.25-120 Points.
7. Cody Campbell, 83.75-87.5-0-171.25-115 Points.
8. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 86.75-82.5-0-169.25-110 Points.
9. Cooper Davis, 85.5-86-0-171.50-80 Points.
10. Stetson Lawrence, 86.5-0-0-86.50-70 Points.
11. Koal Livingston, 86.25-0-0-86.25-55 Points.
12. Matt Triplett, 0-86.25-0-86.25-50 Points.
13. Marco Antonio Eguchi, 0-85.25-0-85.25-10 Points.
14. Kaique Pacheco, 0-84.5-0-84.50-5 Points.
(tie). Guilherme Marchi, 0-84.75-0-84.75-5 Points.
16. Luciano De Castro, 0-84.25-0-84.25
(tie). Michael Lane, 84.25-0-0-84.25
18. Lucas Divino, 82.75-0-0-82.75
(tie). Juan Carlos Contreras, 0-82.75-0-82.75
Eduardo Aparecido, 0-0-0-0.00
Brennon Eldred, 0-0-0-0.00
Ryan Dirteater, 0-0-0-0.00
Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-0.00
Valdiron de Oliveira, 0-0-0-0.00
Alex Marcilio, 0-0-0-0.00
Silvano Alves, 0-0-0-0.00
Joao Ricardo Vieira, 0-0-0-0.00
Tye Chandler, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Heffernan, 0-0-0-0.00
Brock Radford, 0-0-0-0.00
Colten Jesse, 0-0-0-0.00
Justin Granger, 0-0-0-0.00
Alisson Souza, 0-0-0-0.00
Lindomar Lino, 0-0-0-0.00
Fernando Henrique Novais, 0-0-0-0.00
Rubens Barbosa, 0-0-0-0.00