The Tacoma Invitational Kicks Off With Flare On Saturday Night Live

Earlier tonight the Tacoma Invitational kicked off as the top bull riders in the world began the journey to see who would be crowned the next 2018 event champion inside of the iconic Tacoma Dome in Washington State.  As we look at the event as a whole we need to focus on a few things that will take place here this weekend that may go completely unnoticed by many watching live or at home on the Ride Pass platform.  Before we can talk about what may not be noticeable we need to focus on one thing that is, the missing J.B. Mauney who has been a source of speculation after breaking vertebrae in his back just a week ago.  Many have wondered if he will come back in the expected 6-8 weeks or if he will finally hang up his spurs and take on a different role within the PBR organization and earlier this week he made it VERY clear that he would not be retiring and would be back inside of the arena after the summer break that happens three short weeks from now!

Getting back to a few things that will take place this weekend we will focus our attention on both sides of the coin by highlighting some facts about what you will see by both bovine and cowboy as the weekend progresses here in Tacoma.  First off, records will be broken over the next two days as one of the biggest stock contractors on the Unleash The Beast Tour will take center stage and make history by offering up the most bucking bulls in a performance that we have ever seen.  Chad Berger will bring an unprecedented 75 buckers to the show throughout the two-day event while we focus on the cowboy facts in tonight’s 15/15 Bucking Battle which will happen later tonight after the conclusion of round one.  In the round, we will see a huge number of rematches that will feature eight rematches where four had previously been ridden to the eight seconds by their opponents they will face again tonight!

Luciano De Castro Claims The Round One Win In Tacoma 

Photo Credit: Andy Watson / Bull Stock Media

As the energy began to grow, the moment that everyone had been waiting an entire year for was about to take place with the beginning of round one of the 2018 Tacoma Invitational that would give every fan in attendance all that they could handle on a Saturday night.  After another emotional “Celebrate America” opening that would again showcase the Patriotic Voice of the PBR, Ryan Weaver, we were able to meet the bull riders one by one during the opening ceremonies.  One special moment was when the name of one bull rider who earlier this year announced he would retire at the end of the season was announced to the fans inside of the Tacoma Dome.  Sean Willingham used to be a household name on the premier tour but had fallen back after injuries over the last few years but would make his appearance on the Unleash The Beast Tour again here this weekend!

Coming into round one every cowboy in the locker room knew it would not be an easy task to earn a qualified ride as multi-time Stock Contractor of the Year Chad Berger would be supplying the majority of the bulls that would be faced on Saturday night.  That being said, as the action began it was made evident early on that they would come to play and put in all the effort and try that that they had in their 120-pound bodies.  Once things were all said and done, there would be fourteen of the thirty-five that would be able to handle the power underneath of them for the required eight seconds to earn a score while one would come out the victor on Saturday night.  Tonight, the man with that distinction would be Luciano De Castro who would put up a solid 88.75 point ride atop of Dakota Rodeo / Chad Berger / Clay Struve / H&C Bucking Bulls’ Beast Of Burden to earn the round one win and the 100 world title race points that would go along with it that would put him into the number one spot in the world standings heading into tomorrow afternoon’s action!

Complete Breakdown Of Round One Qualified Rides From The Tacoma Invitational:

Luciano De Castro (88.75)                                                       Sean Willingham (87.25)

Marco Eguchi (87.25)                                                               Jess Lockwood (86.25)

Ramon de Lima (86.00)                                                          Eduardo Aparecido (85.50)

Brock Radford (85.25)                                                             Stetson Lawrence (85.00)

Cody Nance (85.00)                                                                 Tye Chandler (84.25)

Kaique Pacheco (84.00)                                                          Tanner Byrne (83.00)

Nathan Burtenshaw (82.75)                                                   Silvano Alves (76.75)

Cody Nance Brings Home The Tacoma 15/15 Bucking Battle Win

Photo Credit: Andy Watson / Bull Stock Media

After the round one performance was concluded, the action down on the arena floor was far from over as the fans watching the event live in the Tacoma Dome were treated to another edition of a 15/15 Bucking Battle round that would have a little different feel than most others throughout the year.  This weekend, many key match-ups would take place but for a majority of them it would be deja vu as the cowboys and bovine athletes would butt heads in featured re-matches from prior events.  In total, eight out of the fifteen rides we would see would not be the first time that the pairings would see each other with half of them, four in total, that would end in qualified rides leaving the bucking bulls with a little extra reason to give more effort to see if they could even up the score tonight!  After all was said and done, only one of the fifteen would do just that again with Cody Nance taking home the outright win with a mere 84.75 point ride atop of Culp Bucking Bulls’ Painted Pudge!  See how everything played out in tonight’s 15/15 Bucking Battle with our complete breakdown of rides courtesy of all of us at The Rodeo Round-Up.

Tanner Byrne Vs. Rising Sun (B/O 2.08)

Keyshawn Whitehorse Vs. Stretch (B/O 6.75)

Stetson Lawrence Vs. Indian Medicine (B/O 2.77)

Valdiron de Oliveira Vs. Gambini (B/O 5.35)

Brennon Eldred Vs. Red Bandana (B/O 3.48)

Ryan Dirteater Vs. Like A Boss (B/O 3.52)

Kaique Pacheco Vs. Spotted Demon (B/O 4.23)

Cooper Davis Vs. Catfish John (B/O 7.32)

Jess Lockwood Vs. I Always Stand (B/O 7.6)

Eduardo Aparecido Vs. Fire $ Smoke (B/O 7.51)

Cody Nance Vs. Painted Pudge (84.75)

Claudio Montanha Jr. Vs. Beaver Creek Beau (B/O 6.10)

Jose Vitor Leme Vs. Shelly’s Gangster (B/O 4.94)

Luciano De Castro Vs. Livin’ Large (B/O 3.56)

Ramon de Lima Vs. More Big Bucks (B/O 7.86)

 

**Re-match with previous qualified ride**

**Re-Match**

Following an exciting round one performance where we had the chance to see an extra round of action the anticipation of what is to be expected tomorrow afternoon is busting at the seams as the fans here in Tacoma make their guesses on how things will shake out in the end.  On that note, many of the cowboys in the locker room are hoping to live up to those expectations as they try to earn enough Unleash The Beast Tour world points to secure their spot for the time being.  Those that were able to make the buzzer tonight are riding a wave of confidence heading into tomorrow afternoon’s round two while those that came up short continue to try and right the wrongs in the quickest way they can.  All in all, it will be a fun event to be a part of as the 2018 Tacoma Invitational concludes tomorrow afternoon as we crown the next 2018 season event champion!

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