As the final afternoon of the 2020 Professional Bull Riders World Finals approached on this Championship Sunday afternoon, the energy and excitement of what had happened over the last three days were undoubtedly infectious. The buzz around AT&T Stadium was that of anticipation and undying support for favorite bull riders and world championship-caliber bucking bulls that were set to perform again. Last night gave all those in attendance their first look at the new PBR World Champion as well as the top ABBI Classic bucking bulls in the business today.
One thing that was unmistakably different this year was exactly how and who would be making it to the fourth and final day of action here in Arlington. Different from previous years, only those riders that have made at least one qualified ride was given the sure chance to come back to today’s round, followed by those that would fill out the rest of the field based on world standings rankings. Coming into today’s fourth round there would be twenty-six that were able to make that happen.
Jess Lockwood Notches A Qualified Ride On Sunday
Photo Credit: official_monson_photography
Much like any other Championship Sunday, there would be the final round followed by the Championship Round of action to finish out the event which was the same here at the World Finals but on a much larger scale. Before the start of the fourth round of action, the number of bull riders coming into the round with perfect records this weekend was dwindled down from eight in round three to just half of that, totaling four, for round four. After all was said and done, there would only be none that would be able to carry that record to the Championship Round. Once the round was finished two-time world champion Jess Lockwood would make the winning ride with a score of 91.00 to win the fourth round inside of AT&T Stadium.
During the Championship Round draft, the top fifteen riders from the average of the last four rounds were able to pick the match-ups that they had in front of them, for the first time this entire weekend, which is also a major change from years past. Following all of the excitement from the Championship round, it would be five that would be able to outlast their bovine athlete opponents and earn a qualified ride. That being said, it would be Boudreaux Campbell who would outlast the others in the final round of action for the 2020 season with a 92.25 point ride and take home the Championship Round win with a huge 93.75 point ride on the arena floor.
Boudreaux Campbell Is Your 2020 World Finals Event Champion
Photo Credit: official_monson_photography
This year’s PBR World Finals has been a very grueling one for the top bull riders in the world but each and every one of them came and put their best foot forward in hopes of winning a huge pocket of cash. Many titles were one the line here this weekend with one of them being who would outperform all the others over the four-day/five-round period to walk out of Arlington, Texas with a huge $300,000 paycheck for their efforts. That is exactly what the winner of the 2020 PBR World Finals event average wound take home once things were all said and done.
This race was absolutely neck-for-neck coming into today’s final rounds but almost every eye was on Brazillian Jose Vitor Leme who has been absolutely unstoppable this season and came into Championship Sunday with a commanding lead after winning last night’s third round and earning the coveted PBR World Champion title less than 24-hours ago. That being said, it seemed as if after he knew he had won the world title that the need to ride was not as strong and allowed one of those behind him to win the event average and take home the money. That man would be PBR rookie Boudreaux Campbell who would walk away with that prestigious title underneath his belt.
Beaudreaux Campbell Is The 2020 PBR Rookie of the Year
Photo Credit: official_monson_photography
The 2020 PBR Rookie of the Year race has been a fun one to watch as things began to tighten up tremendously as the World Finals began. Cole Melancon came into the World Finals with a nicely padded lead, but as we all know, things can change in a heartbeat throughout the weekend. Here in Texas, that was just the case as Boudreaux Campbell put on a performance that no one thought would be done to make this Rookie of the Year race one of the most interesting and intense in recent memory. Once all was said and done, it would be Campbell that would take this title home in 2020 putting on a gutsy performance going an amazing 4-for-5 that put him number first in the World Finals event average to take over the lead in the Rookie of the Year standings.
Chad Berger Is Your 2020 PBR Stock Contractor of the Year
Photo Credit: Cowboy Lifestyle Network
When it comes to talking about championship-caliber bucking bulls in the Professional Bull Riders tour one name is on the tip of everyone’s tongue. Mandan, North Dakota’s Chad Berger is widely known for having some of the best bovine athletes in the business today and his historic record proves it. Coming into this year’s PBR World Finals, Berger has claimed nine Stock Contractor of the Year awards but it did not stop there. Earlier today, he was officially awarded his TENTH award in that very same category, making him one of the best, if not the best, stock contractor going down the road today!
Smooth Operator Is Your 2020 World Champion Bucking Bull
Photo Credit: Andy Watson / Bull Stock Media
The 2020 World Champion Bucking Bull race has flipped flopped all year long and it all came down to the last two rides of the year to see who would have the best-combined two-ride average from round one and today’s Championship Sunday out. Chiseled came into the World Finals in the number one spot and after round one it was Smooth Operator took over that spot where today’s performances were critical in the decision of who would walk out with the title. Smooth Operator earned a 46 bull score in round one while earning a 46.25 bull score earlier today, giving him an average score of 46.125. Chiseled came into today with a 45.25 bull score from round one while earning a 45.75 bull score in the Championship Sunday action down on the arena floor giving him a combined average of 45.50. After scores were tallied it was Smooth Operator who would walk out of AT&T Stadium your 2020 World Champion Bucking Bull.
Jose Vitor Leme Is Your New 2020 PBR World Champion
Photo Credit: official_monson_photography
The world title race this year was, for the most part, all about one man as he started the year out on top and left AT&T Stadium in the very same way, as the 2020 PBR World Champion. After two years of being in the hunt and placing second one of those years, Brazillian Jose Vitor Leme would create his destiny by gaining the title of PBR World Champion. He was so dominating not only throughout the season but throughout the entire World Finals week as well, earning him his title one night early, just less than 24-hours ago on Saturday night.
His astounding 2020 PBR World Finals began on the first night and stayed amazing all the way through the fourth and final day here earlier this afternoon in Arlington, Texas. Round one began with 87.50, placing eighth in the round while earning 83.25 in round two. Last night he would take the win with a huge 95.75 point ride earning him his first-ever World Championship title but that was not enough for this amazing man. Earlier this afternoon he would move on to the Championship Round where he would give it is all before bucking off early but still earning his first ever World Championship title.
Even though this year has been very difficult and different for the Professional Bull Riders Unleash The Beast Tour, those involved pulled off a tremendous PBR World Finals week in Arlington, Texas. Only having about a month and a half to throw something together after finding out they could not host it in Las Vegas with fans they all did an outstanding job. I have also been given some wonderful folks that have put in a lot of time and effort to bring you all the coverage that the Rodeo Round Up gave you this week and I can not thank them all enough. My team here on-site with me this week, keeping up on all the social media posts and making sure we had up-to-the-minute stats were Chris Borja and Aurora Dann. To my fellow media outlet friends and outlets, thank you for coming together to give the fans what they needed, no matter who, what, or when we ALL needed something. Lastly, a huge thank you goes out to official_monson_photography for offering your fantastic photos due to the limited floor area due to COVID restrictions, I can not thank you enough for your professionalism and willingness to help out in times of need!
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