(SOURCE: PBR Press Release)
Ahead of the 2024 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals, on May 3-4 in Corpus Christi, Texas, the organization today announced the 44-rider field that will compete at the expansion series’ season-culminating event, vying for the title of Velocity Tour Champion and the accompanying $50,000 bonus.
Additionally, five riders will earn a berth to the PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast – Eliminations, May 9-12 in Fort Worth, Texas at Cowtown Coliseum.
With the Top 9 separated by fewer than 320 Velocity Global points, all in contention for the Velocity Tour Championship, the field is led by No. 1 Ederson Santos, who is 17.5 points ahead of No. 2 Grayson Cole.
The field also features four of the riders currently ranked inside the Top 10 in the race for the 2024 PBR World Championship. The contingent is led by current No. 2 and 18-year-old bull riding prodigy John Crimber and also includes No. 5 Alan de Souza, No. 8 Joao Ricardo Vieira and No. 9 Brady Fielder. Vieira and Fielder are chasing individual glory after being a part of the 2023 PBR Teams Champion Texas Rattlers, in the PBR’s separate Teams league.
Throughout the 2024 PBR Velocity Tour Finals, riders will be competing for their share of the $100,000 event purse, and the titles of Velocity Tour Champion, which includes an added $50,000 bonus, and Velocity Tour Finals event winner. A maximum of 320 Velocity Tour Global points will be available at the 2024 PBR Velocity Tour Finals, with 40 points awarded to each round winner, and 200 points to the top rider in the aggregate.
Riders will also earn points for their ride scores. Rides from 70-79.75 points will earn 7 points, 80-89.75 will earn 8 points and rides 90-99.75 will earn 9 bonus points. Should a rider register three 90-point rides, he would earn and additional 27 Velocity Global points, making one rider’s potential maximum points earned 347.
The championship event at American Bank Center Arena culminates a high-intensity season that began first week of January and crisscrossed the country with 30 regular-season events held across four months, including 12 weekends with two events held simultaneously. Welcoming more than 348,000 fans throughout the season, the Velocity Tour hosted 18 sold out events, marking its most successful season in attendance since its inception in 2015.
Regarded as “The Championship before the Championship,” the Velocity Tour’s season-end event also represents the final opportunity for five riders to qualify to the sport’s most prestigious event, the PBR World Finals, which will debut a new format in 2024. The World Finals will begin with Eliminations on May 9-12 in Fort Worth at Cowtown Coliseum, where 20 riders will earn direct berths to the Championship on May 18-19 at AT&T Stadium in nearby Arlington. Riders who do not advance will have one last chance to remain in the race for the title of World Champion by competing at Ride For Redemption on May 15-16 at Cowtown Coliseum, which will award the final five berths to the Championship.
Santos has been sensational all season long as he chases the 2024 PBR Velocity Tour Championship, and his first berth to the PBR World Finals.
The talented 36-year-old rode to two event wins, in addition to logging 10 accompanying Top-10 finishes across all levels of Velocity Global competition. He covered a torrid 56.09% of his bovine athlete opponents, going 23-for-41.
The surging Brazilian is followed closely by Grayson Cole, who gained significant ground on the No. 1 rank at the regular-season finale for the Velocity Tour in late April in Grand Forks, North Dakota. Throughout 2024, Cole won four events, including the most recent tour stop in North Dakota. Much like Santos, Cole also registered an additional 10 Top-10 efforts, including a third-place result in Grand Forks, earned courtesy of a double-entry. Cole’s pair of podium finishes in the Peace Garden State allowed him to rise from No. 3 to No. 2, diminishing Santos’ sizeable 199.5-point lead to a mere 17.5 points.
The remainder of the Top 10 who are active and anticipated to compete at the 2024 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals includes: No. 3 Dener Barbosa (-144 points); No. 4 Jean Fernandes Pereira (-197.17 points); No. 5 Dawson Branton (-237.84 points); No. 7 Ramon de Lima (-255 points); No. 8 Thiago Salgado (-298.17 points); No. 9 Guilherme Valleiras (-319.5 points); and No. 10 Jake Morinec (-336.5 points).
One rider earned a berth to the Velocity Tour Finals via their World Champion status. 2002 gold buckle-winner Ednei Caminhas, who is also now Assistant Coach for the New York Mavericks in PBR Teams, is anticipated to compete at the two-day event in Corpus Christi.
Should Caminhas qualify for the World Finals, he would become the oldest ever to do so at the age of 48, breaking the record of 46 he previously set in 2022 when he qualified for the World Finals via the Velocity Tour Finals.
Three riders earned their spot at the 2024 Velocity Tour Finals via international invites. 2022 PBR Australia Rookie of the Year Qynn Andersen will ride for Australia, 2022 PBR Canada Champion Nick Tetz will represent Canada, and 2023 PBR Brazil Champion Jean Fernandes Pereira will compete for Brazil. Last season Tetz earned the international invite, subsequently competing at his career-first PBR World Finals where he finished 16th. Tetz’ breakthrough season stateside in individual competition led him to be signed by the Arizona Ridge Riders, where he went on to be the team’s top performer in 2023.
Of the three international invites, the top finisher will receive one of the available berths to the 2024 PBR World Finals. In 2017, Jose Vitor Leme earned this invite, which set forth a career which continues to reshape the PBR record books.
The complete list of qualifiers is:
Andrew Alvidrez (Seminole, Texas)
Qynn Andersen (Koumala, Queensland, Australia)
Alvaro Ariel (Itumirim, Brazil)
Hunter Ball (Carsonville, Michigan)
Dener Barbosa (Paulo de Faria, Brazil)
Andy Bohl (St. Cloud, Florida)
Dawson Branton (Jefferson, Oregon)
Ednei Caminhas (Indaiatuba, Brazil)
Leonardo Castro (Cassilandia, Brazil)
Alex Cerqueira (Iguatemi, Brazil)
Grayson Cole (New Riggold, Pennsylvania)
Lucas Martins Costa (Frutal, Brazil)
John Crimber (Decatur, Texas)
Ramon de Lima (Rio Branco, Brazil)
Alan de Souza (Taubate, Brazil)
Lucas Divino (Nova Crixas, Brazil)
Eric Henrique Domingos (Perola, Brazil)
Marco Eguchi (Poa, Brazil)
Jean Fernandes Pereira (Crixas, Brazil)
Brady Fielder (Clermont, Queensland, Australia)
Bill Henry (Manila, Utah)
Dustin Herman (Dudley Shoals, North Carolina)
Elizmar Jeremias (Anapu, Brazil)
Cody Jesus (Window Rock, Arizona)
Daniel Keeping (Montague, Texas)
Michael Lane (Tazewell, Virginia)
Kaiden Loud (Kaufman, Texas)
Joao Henrique Lucas (Bastos, Brazil)
Tyler Manor (Portland, Indiana)
Callum Miller (Warwick, Queensland, Australia)
Ezekiel Mitchell (Rockdale, Texas)
Claudio Montanha Jr. (Ribeirao dos Indios, Brazil)
Jake Morinec (Mokena, Illinois)
Kyler Oliver (Roy, Utah)
Joao Paulo Fernandes (Hidrolina, Brazil)
Marcelo Procopio Pereira (Rinopolis, Brazil)
Paulo Eduardo Rossetto (Colorado, Brazil)
Dalton Rudman (Wellington, Utah)
Thiago Salgado (Navirai, Brazil)
Ederson Santos (Ilha Solteira, Brazil)
Nick Tetz (Calgary, Alberta, Canada)
Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil)
Keyshawn Whitehorse (McCracken Spring, Utah)
Leandro Zampollo (Pirassunuga, Brazil)
The bull riding action for the 2024 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals, presented by Coastal Bend Chevy Dealers, begins at 7:30 p.m. CDT on Friday, May 3 and Saturday, May 4 at American Bank Center Arena.
Each of the 44 competing riders will attempt one bull each in Round 1 on Friday, May 3, followed by Round 2 on Saturday, May 4. At the conclusion of the second round, the riders’ individual two-round scores will be totaled with the Top 10 advancing to the championship round for one more out and a chance at being crowned at the 2024 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Champion and Finals event winner.
Tickets for the 2024 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals are on sale now, and start at $15, taxes and fees not included. Tickets can be purchased online at PBR.com and Ticketmaster.com, at the American Bank Center Arena Box Office, or by calling PBR customer service at 1-800-732-1727.
Stay tuned to PBR.com for the latest news and results, and follow the sport on all social media platforms at @PBR.