As the Professional Bull Riders continue to make their west coast run this weekend in Anaheim, California, those competing on the 25th Anniversary Monster Energy Unleash The Beast Tour are full of nerves and anxiety as the first cup of the 2018 season has rapidly approached and awaits them following the conclusion of the Anaheim Classic this weekend. Many of those alternates that are currently sitting outside of the cut line are here again this weekend and are only one round win away from moving comfortably above the uneasy bottom of the bunch. Coming into tonight’s round one action everyone knows it is imperative that they earn any points what so ever so they can continue to move up the leaderboard which will be pretty drastic, event with a few points, this early in the season.
Even though the weekend has finally approached and the main story should be who will stay on tour and who will not, that is far from what is at the forefront of everyone’s minds. Last weekend we saw Mason Lowe and awkwardly on his head and instantly begin to hold the back of his neck but luckily he did not sustain any severe injuries and will compete here this weekend. On the other side of the coin, 2-time PBR World Champion J.B. Mauney drew himself out of action here in Anaheim again, making his last appearance the same weekend as earning his 500th career qualified ride. That being said, it is sparking a lot of attention as to if something more is going on or if he is slowly drawing himself out of the limelight in order to begin his retirement, or if he will, in fact, make it back to competition next weekend in Kansas City.
Ryan Dirteater Splits The Round One Win Tonight In Anaheim
Photo Credit: Rokin’ K Photos / Jeana Wilson-Kilcrease
As we take a moment to look at how things are expected to play out here this weekend in Anaheim, we will have much the same look as we did just one week ago down the road in Sacramento with another solid showing by the cowboy competitors. Each and every year the feeling inside of the Honda Center is nothing but pure excitement and the energy can be felt all the way up and down the Pacific coastline. Many of the bull riders here this weekend are again alternates and invitees looking to score a few quick world title race points to secure a spot on the Unleash The Beast Tour for at least another five events. We all look to see the riders fair a little better than they did last weekend as the pen of bucking bulls are, once again, very rider-friendly and will give each of the top bull riders in the world a great chance at earning a score here in round one.
Once the action began down on the arena floor of the Honda Center earlier tonight, the fans were emotionally charged and ready to cheer for their favorite cowboys and/or bucking bulls as each gave us a lot to cheer for on a beautiful Friday night. As week we were able to see just over 34% of rides attempts end up as qualified rides which is a nice total for the amount of bull power that was on display over the five rounds of action. Tonight would continue that trend as eleven of the top thirty-five managed to do just the same here in round one. That being said, no one could compete with the 87.50 point rides that Ryan Dirteater and Stetson Lawrence managed to put on the board atop of their bovine opponents for the needed eight seconds to split the round one win here in Anaheim, California, setting up for a fantastic final day of action tomorrow night!
Complete Round One Qualified Ride List From Anaheim:
Ryan Dirteater (87.50) Stetson Lawrence (87.50)
Luciano De Castro (86.50) Claudio Montanha Jr. (86.00)
Cody Nance (86.00) Brady Oleson (86.00)
Eduardo Aparecido (85.75) Silvano Alves (85.25)
Dener Barbosa (84.25) Brennon Eldred (83.75)
Fabiano Vieira (83.25)
Brady Oleson Made His 2018 Unleash The Beast Tour Debut Earlier Tonight
Photo Credit: Andy Watson / Bull Stock Media
This weekend marked the end of the first leg of the 2018 Professional Bull Riders 25th Anniversary Monster Energy Unleash The Beast tour with the beginning of event number five, where the first cuts of the season will take place at the conclusion of tomorrow night’s action. Every one of the cowboys towards the bottom of the magic 35 were feeling the nerves and anxiety as their names were announced earlier tonight in the opening ceremonies. Many, due to last year’s statistics, have been invited as alternates to the first few events of 2018 and one of those here this weekend currently sits in the number twenty spot in the early 2018 PBR World Standings, making his Unleash The Beast Tour debut here in Anaheim, California knowing there is a chance he could be leaving bumped down to the Velocity Tour to earn his way back up again.
The hopes and dreams of a few will come to an end after this weekend’s performance but newcomer Brady Oleson is going to do what he can to make sure he is not one of them. Coming into Anaheim, he is full of confidence after having a great start to the season on the Velocity Tour. Prior to round one earlier tonight he comfortably sat in the number twenty position in the 2018 PBR World Standings and came in hoping to earn a few more points to secure his spot for many more weeks to come. Tonight, he matched muscle with Diamond G Rodeos, Inc’s Make-N-Magic in his first Unleash The Beast Tour appearance and, unfortunately, came up a little short but knew he could make it up tomorrow night in round two. It will all play out and a few aspirations will come to an end as the first cut of the season will be made.
As kicked off the Anaheim Invitational earlier tonight inside of the Honda Center, we saw much the same feel as last weekend when we started the 2018 west coast wing of the PBR’s 25th Anniversary Monster Energy Unleash The Beast Tour in Sacramento. Although there were some new faces that all the fans were excited to see back, there were still a couple that many were hoping to see who pulled out of the action early on in the week. One of those being the 2-time PBR World Champion J.B. Mauney who is now expected t omake his in-arena return next weekend as we head back to the Midwest and Kansas City, Missouri for the Caterpillar Classic. Missing this weekend’s event has sparked the debate on if he would actually return to action or find a new role within the organization so we will all have to wait and see!
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