The Hype is Real: John Crimber’s PBR Stardom Officially Begins Tonight
The PBR Teams season ended in late October with the Texas Rattlers as last team standing and the only one smiling to conclude a dramatic, pressure-packed, three-day elimination tournament.
Now, the cowboys of the PBR go back to individual competition as the sport’s premier series – Unleash The Beast – begins the 2024 season in Tucson Arena tonight (7:45 p.m. MST) and Saturday (6:45 p.m. MST).
With 24 events ahead leading into the first PBR World Finals that will crown a champion inside AT&T Stadium in Arlington, TX, here are a few riders to keep a special eye on in Tucson, and barring injury in this brutal sport, the weeks to come:
John Crimber – The hype is real. While John Crimber didn’t make his debut on the PBR Challenger Series until mid-August, the day after he turned 18, in the subsequent months he has proven the build-up for one of the most exciting prospects in the history of professional bull riding is completely justified.
Son of pioneering Brazilian rider Paulo Crimber, who now coaches the Arizona Ridge Riders in the Teams league, the young gun won an incredible nine Challenger Series events in 14 tries over three months to skyrocket up the rankings, ending the season No. 2 in the Challenger Global standings.
Crimber then headed north of the border and proceeded to dominate his first event, going 3-for-3, including one of only six 90-point rides this Canadian season, to win the PBR Canada Cup Series event in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.
Heralded as a generational talent, Crimber is being talked about as a lock to be selected No. 1 overall in the 2024 PBR Teams Draft.
To make his long-awaited premier series debut in Tucson, Crimber is tasked with Border Wall in Round 1on Friday.
Cassio Dias – The best rookie during the 2023 PBR Teams season, Dias went an incredible 20-for-28 throughout the regular season and playoffs for the Kansas City Outlaws, coming just one ride short (87 points) of the league MVP award.
The young Brazilian led all teams in riding percentage (73.1%) and tied for the league lead with five 90-point rides. He won event MVP in both Nashville, Tennessee, and Greensboro, North Carolina, and ledthe Outlaws to an 18-10 record, No. 2 in the regular season.
While the Outlaws were upset in Round 2 of the PBR Teams Championship by the Arizona Ridge Riders, Dias proved no moment is too big for him in converting in his first postseason out aboard War Daddy for 86.75 points. Dias takes on Younts Brody’s Pet in Round 1 on Friday.
Caden Bunch – The confident 20-year-old had a breakout season while competing for his home state Oklahoma Freedom in the PBR Camping World Team Series. He finished 11th in the MVP race and led the Freedom by going 11-for-17 throughout the regular season and playoffs.
One of the most consistent riders throughout the season, Bunch never had more than two consecutive buckoffs. If he can stay healthy, maintaining that consistency on the Unleash The Beast tour in 2024 will make him a title contender.
Bunch shares a chute with Ah Hell in Round 1 on Friday.
Joao Ricardo Vieira – The affable 39-year-old veteran was all smiles as usual and nothing short of spectacular for the 2023 PBR Teams Champion Texas Rattlers, going 16-for-28 and finishing 6th in the MVP race.
Vieira, who has twice finished runner-up for a gold buckle (some claim he’s the best bull rider to have never won an individual World title), turned it on when his team needed it most, going a perfect 4-for-4 at the PBR Teams Championship to lead the Texas Rattlers to victory and named event MVP in the process.
In Round 1 on Friday, the consistent Brazilian who continues to defy Father Time in becoming a member of the elite 400-ride club in September, faces off against Nitty Gritty.
Jose Vitor Leme – Anytime there’s talk of bull riders to watch, Jose Vitor Leme’s name has to enter the conversation.
After coming up just short of winning his third gold buckle in individual competition for the second time last season, Leme was in top form for the Austin Gamblers during the ensuing 2023 PBR Teams season.
The two-time World Champion won his second PBR Teams MVP award (meaning he is still the only rider to hold the title of PBR Teams MVP) and led the Austin Gamblers to their second-consecutive regular season No. 1 ranking, finishing 19-9. Leme was the only rider with multiple Extra Out rides, and he tied for the league lead with five 90-point performances.
Now sporting blonde hair, as if a superstar athlete with the two highest-marked rides in PBR history needed to make himself any more conspicuous, the Brazilian who combines flawless technique and fearless try also went a perfect 3-for-3 at the PBR Teams Championship in Las Vegas, bringing the Austin Gamblers one win shy of their first championship.
In the bottom of the fifth of the title game, Leme defiantly stood in the bucking chutes in Dickies Arena, ready to knock down yet another walk-off ride to win the championship for the Gamblers. But on the other side of the dirt, Daniel Keeping of the Texas Rattlers, up a bull, prevented that from happening by recording the biggest qualified ride of his life – a 90-pointer to boot – to put the Rattlers up two bulls and render the MVP’s final out meaningless.
Leme, the rider many predict will be the G.O.A.T when he one day hangs up his rope, takes on a familiar
foe in Hostage in Round 1 Friday evening.
