When the doors opened to the Gila River Casino Arena last night no one knew what to expect as the best bull riders in the world would face off against some of the toughest bucking bulls in the business that was highlighted by another edition of a 15/15 Bucking Battle right here in Glendale, Arizona. Once the action kicked off the cowboys would once again put their best feet forward to out-perform their bovine counterparts fifteen times in round one. That being said, that was not the featured event that we all were waiting to see, that would come later in the night to send everyone home with a buzz heading into tonight’s final rounds of action from the Ak-Chin Invitational! In that round, we were able to all watch together the bull power get ramped up and watch the top bull contenders battle it out for the top score of the night.
In the 15/15 Bucking Battle, we highlighted many of the top bull contenders for the 2018 World Champion Bucking Bull capped off by two of the biggest beasts going down the road today, Sweet Pro’s Bruiser and of course the legendary Pearl Harbor. This week, Bruiser would edge out Pearl Harbor by a mere quarter of a point after posting up a staggering 47.50 mark while Pearl Harbor would do his best to match that with a 47.25 bull score. That in itself would leave the crowd in awe, but they all knew that there was still work to be done and the chatter about tonight’s final rounds took center stage as every fan in attendance wanted to see their favorite bull rider leave with an event win here in Glendale, Arizona and take home the Ak-Chin Invitational event title!
Jose Vitor Leme Claims The Round Two Win In At The Ak-Chin Invitational
Photo Credit: Andy Watson / Bull Stock Media
After another round just 24-hours ago that would leave even more of the top bull riders banged and bruised, many questions remained as to how many would not be able to compete after concussion protocols and waking up seeing how they would feel earlier in the day. As it looked later in the day, every one of the bull riders that competed last night would be able to do just that again here tonight. Every one of them knew that the opportunity presented itself as ten of the top twenty bull riders in the 2018 Professional Bull Riders world standings were out due to injury and sickness. This being said, it would make for another fantastic night of bull riding action to see who would leave with the next event title of the 2018 season after winning the Ak-Chin Invitational!
Following another special Saturday night opening of celebrating America, it was time to get down to business and fill the arena floor with bull riders and bucking bulls. Hoping to continue the good fortunes that we saw last night the top thirty-six bull riders in the world were ready to, once again, compete to be able to participate in the Championship Round later in the night. The twelfth stop on the Unleash The Beast Tour would continue to impress with another ten qualified rides were made, making the path to the championship round that much harder for each of the contestants here this weekend. After all was said and done, Jose Vitor Leme would be the top man in round two bringing home the round win and the 100 world title race points with a solid 88.50 point ride atop of West Coast Bucking Bulls’ Samson!
Complete Breakdown Of Round Two Qualified Rides In Glendale:
Jose Vitor Leme (88.50) Eduardo Aparecido (87.25)
Silvano Alves (86.75) Nathan Burtenshaw (86.25)
Brady Oleson (86.00) Ueberson Duarte (83.25)
Kaique Pacheco (82.75) Keyshawn Whitehorse (82.25)
Linomar Lino (82.00) Marco Eguchi (81.75)
Eduardo Aparecido Brings Home The Championship Round Win In Glendale
Photo Credit: Andy Watson / Bull Stock Media
Before we could crown a 2018 Ak-Chin Invitational Champion, we still had some unfinished business to take care of down on the arena floor as the championship round was set to take place and would ultimately determine who would leave with that title. Unlike other championship rounds that we have seen so far this year, tonight’s round would make life a little easier for each of the fifteen cowboys invited back since we watched the top bulls in the business buck last night in the 15/15 Bucking Battle. That being said, things still would be anything from easy for those vying for the event title that would bring us into the much-anticipated Easter break that will give all of these athletes, both human and bovine, a chance to take some time off to heal up and get pampered while spending some quality time with their families!
As we began with the customary walk atop the shark cage in the center of the arena, the championship round bull draft took place that would put together the last pairings of the weekend to see who would leave as the event champion. Once things started to unfold it was apparent that being higher in the draft would definitely have its advantages, here this weekend especially as the last guys with the picks fell to the wayside one by one quite quickly. That being said, there were a few that would be able to celebrate in the middle of the arena floor as making qualified rides to round out the weekend. All in all, there would be ix that would be able to do that with Eduardo Aparecido putting up a 90.25 point ride, taking home the round win and the 100 points that would go along with it on Saturday night live in Glendale, Arizona!
Eduardo Aparecido Celebrates His 2018 Ak-Chin Invitational Win In Glendale
Photo Credit: Rokin’ K Photos/Jeana Wilson Kilcrease
After everything was said and done and the injuries were assessed that were sustained throughout the first two rounds of action it was time to try and put pencils to paper to figure out who would come out as the number one man at the Ak-Chin Invitational here at the beautiful Gila River Casino Arena. While the action was hot and heavy, injuries were had that continue to put many of the top guys on the sidelines but all that was forgotten for at least a few minutes as we all came together to celebrate an event title for a young man that has been climbing the ranks and continues to earn his spot on the Unleash The Beast Tour. Once all the scores were checked and everything was finalized, it was time to turn to our attention to the celebration to officially crown the 2018 Ak-Chin Invitational event champion!
Once the championship round began, we quickly started to post qualified rides on the board as we got down to those that came into the round in the upper middle of the pack. Throughout the weekend Brazilian Eduardo Aparecido proved to be solid and continued to earn points as the event continued and carried that momentum throughout the entire event to finally bring home another event title as he earned the 2018 Ak-Chin Invitational in Glendale, Arizona bringing him up to the number five position in the 2018 PBR world standings all while earning a whopping 500 world title race points. Along with his big move, he would also be able to carry a cool $38,700 home to his family for his efforts as we head into a weekend off to celebrate the Easter holiday with all of our families.
After another successful event, the injury list keeps growing larger and larger as we near the halfway point of the 2018 Professional Bull Riders 25th Anniversary Monster Energy Unleash The Beast Tour as the Easter break could not come at a better time for the banged-up cowboys. As each of them begins their journies home to spend time with family, many of them will take the week break to try and recover from the grueling start of the season to come back with a bang when we return to action in Sioux Falls, South Dakota on April 6th for the First Premier Bank Premier Bankcard Invitational. This is an event that many of the cowboys look forward to all year long where history has been made time and time again, leaving the question of if it can be done again in 2018!
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