As the first Eliminations stage of the 2024 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) World Finals: Unleash the Beast concluded Sunday at Fort Worth’s historic Cowtown Coliseum, 18-year-old phenom John Crimber of Decatur, Texas, turned in a clutch ride to tighten his grasp on the No. 2 ranking and inch closer to becoming the youngest World Champion in PBR history.
After going 0-for-2 through the opening rounds of Eliminations, Crimber gained momentum Saturday evening as he tied for the Round 3 win riding Brown Bomber (Culp Bucking Bulls) for 89.25 points. In Sunday’s fourth round, Crimber bested Ugly This (Cord McCoy/McCoy Rodeo) to earn 89.75 points and a three-way first-place tie while finishing the Eliminations stage in second place.
Crimber, who is expected to be the top pick in the upcoming 2024 PBR Teams New Rider Draft in late May, picked up 253 Unleash The Beast points over the four days of Eliminations as well as winnings of $127,833.33. While he began Eliminations 560.5 points behind No. 1 Cassio Dias (Sao F. de Sales, Brazil), he now trails his fellow Brazilian rookie by 487.5 points.
Next up for Crimber and others advancing from the Eliminations competition is the Championship (May 18-19) at AT&T Stadium in Arlington where one rider will have the chance to earn a maximum 756 Unleash The Beast points, including those earned for ride scores. As a result, the Top 4 riders in the standings remain in contention for the 2024 PBR World Championship.
Dias, who was sidelined from competition on Sunday due to injury, was still able to finish third in Eliminations, earning 180 Unleash The Beast points by going 2-for-3 at Cowtown Coliseum. He rode Sava (Risen Cattle Co.) for 86.75 points in Round 1 and Ricky Vaughn (WinRock/D&H Cattle/Buck Cattle) for 88 points in Round 2 before being sidelined when he was stepped on following his 5.78-second buckoff on Norse God (Jane Clark/Gene Owen) in Round 3.
Elsewhere in the Top 4 and still in contention for the 2024 PBR World Championship, No. 3 Eduardo Aparecido (Gouvelandia, Brazil) tied for 12th at Eliminations to earn 88 Unleash The Beast points, while No. 4 Dalton Kasel (Muleshoe, Texas) was shut out, going 0-for-4.
Aparecido will head to Arlington 686.33 points behind No.1 Dias, while Kasel will begin the Championship 751.33 points back.
Kaiden Loud (Kaufman, Texas) was the only rider to go 3-for-4 to win the first stage of the 2024 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast.
After riding Black Betty (Deatherage/Peoples Cattle Co.) for 86.75 points in Round 1, 19-year-old Loud took over the top spot on the event leaderboard when he delivered the first 90-point ride of the 2024 PBR World Finals – a monster 91.75 points for his 8 seconds of work atop Doze You Down (Dozier Cattle Co./Martinez Bucking Bulls).
Loud then became the only rider to cover three bulls during Eliminations when he topped Renegade (Hale/Vella/Ogden/Hart) for 88.5 points in Round 3. While he was bucked off by Hunting Trip (Dozier Cattle Co./Martinez Bucking Bulls) in 3.92 seconds in Round 4, his opening-round scores were enough to cement the event win.
The young Texan’s finish earned him a much-needed 379 Unleash The Beast points and $219,833.33. He catapulted from No. 20 to No. 6 in the Unleash The Beast standings, securing one of the first 20 spots at the PBR World Finals – Championship.
Dias, Crimber, Aparecido, Kasel and Loud will be joined by the following 10 riders who will also advance to the Championship via their rank in the Unleash The Beast standings: No. 5 Alan de Souza (Taubate, Brazil), No. 7 Koltin Hevalow (Smithville, Missouri), No. 9 Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil), No. 10 Joao Ricardo Vieira (Itatinga, Brazil), No. 11 Brady Fielder (Clermont, Queensland, Australia), No. 12 Thiago Salgado (Navirai, Brazil), No. 13 Caden Bunch (Tahlequah, Oklahoma), No. 14 Leonardo Castro (Cassilandia, Brazil), No. 15 Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York), and No. 16 Cort McFadden (Novice, Texas).
Five additional riders advanced to the Championship via their finish at Eliminations. Dener Barbosa (Paulo de Faria, Brazil), Andrew Alvidrez (Seminole, Texas), Sage Steele Kimzey (Strong City, Oklahoma), Silvano Alves (Pilar do Sul, Brazil) and Claudio Montanha Jr. (Ribeirao dos Indios, Brazil) advanced as the top finishers at Eliminations not already moving forward via their rank.
The remaining 25 riders will now turn to the second phase of the Unleash the Beast tournament, Ride For Redemption, to keep their Championship hopes alive. They will be joined by 10 riders invited from PBR Teams; three from the PBR Stockyards Showcase; and two other invited competitors – the 2023 PRCA Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association world champion bull rider and the 2024 Rodeo Corpus Christi bull riding event champion.
Ride for Redemption, to be held Wednesday and Thursday (May 15-16) at Cowtown Coliseum, will award the final five berths to the Championship round at AT&T Stadium. Competition will begin at 7:45 p.m. both days. Tickets are still available and can be purchased at PBR.com/WorldFinals, CowtownColiseum.com and AXS.com, or by phone at 1-800-732-1727.
(Information for this article was provided by PBR.)