Vieira wins PBR's Ak-Chin Invitational in Glendale

Courtesy PBR

GLENDALE, Ariz – Following two days of non-stop action at the Gila River Arena in Glendale, Brazilian riders topped the leaderboard of the season’s third premier series event. Veteran rider Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Sao Paulo, Brazil) collected his first PBR (Professional Bull Riders) elite tour win of the 2019 season at the PBR Unleash The Beast, Ak-Chin Invitational, presented by Cooper Tires.

Earlier in the evening Vieira rode Red Sails in the Sunset (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/ Clay Struve/ Heald Pro Bulls) for 82 points in Round 2 before conquering Shelley’s Gangster (Dakota Rodeo/ Chad Berger/Clay Struve/ Shelley Cadzow) in the championship round for 87.5 points.

After going 3-for-3 over the weekend, Vieira earned 460 world points, to make an impressive climb from the No. 117 spot in the PBR world standings to No. 6, along with a paycheck of $34,185.

The victory is Vieira’s first on the elite tour since 2016, winning the September stop in Colorado Springs, and ninth overall in his career.

Vieira is now 1,307.5 points behind 2017 PBR World Champion Jess Lockwood (Volborg, Montana) who holds tight to the No.1 spot in the world standings. Lockwood, who started the season on fire by winning both the season opener in New York City and the stop the following week in Chicago, had his perfect 10-for-10 riding streak stopped when he was bucked off Deep Water (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/ Clay Struve/ Heald Pro Bulls) in Round 2 Sunday evening. Lockwood finished 20th in the Glendale event.