LAS VEGAS (October 23, 2010) - Bringing the crowd of 15,684 to its feet and causing it to roar even louder when he completed his traditional celebratory back flip, Renato Nunes finished first in Round 3 and moved into the event lead on Friday at the 2010 Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough World Finals at the Thomas & Mack Center.
For the third straight day, Nunes gained ground in the race for the World Championship and $1 million, moving past J.B. Mauney of Mooresville, N.C., and into second place, 119 points behind Austin Meier of Kinta, Okla. The 2010 PBR World Champion will be the rider with the most Built Ford Tough Series points accumulated during the regular season and the World Finals. There are a potential 4,000 points remaining at the World Finals, so any of the Top 7 riders in the world are still in contention.
Nunes scored 89.25 points on Closet Gangster (Mesa Bucking Bulls/Bierema Rodeo) and has ridden all three of his bulls so far for a total of 267.25 points. Meier has bucked off his last two bulls while Mauney has not registered a score at all.
World No. 4 Valdiron de Oliveira of Aparecida de Goiania, Brazil, also gained ground in the title race, after scoring 82.75 points on Reddy Freddie (Jeff Robinson Bucking Bulls). Oliveira is 1,011.25 points behind Meier.
Rookie of the Year candidate Wesley Lourenco of Santo Antônio da Barra, Brazil, finished second in Round 3 with 88.25 points on Foolish Pride (4L & Diamond S Rodeo Company). Making his first appearance in the United States, the 20-year-old has also ridden all three of his bulls, and is in second place overall in the event with 263.25 points.
Round 4 will be at 6 p.m. on Saturday, and tickets are still available at the Thomas & Mack Center box office, online at www.unlvtickets.com and by telephone at 866-PBR-SHOW. The Finals are televised on VERSUS at 9 p.m. ET on Saturday, and on NBC at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday.
Ned Cross of Midland, Ore., is in third place overall with 178.75 points, followed by Dustin Elliott of North Platte, Neb., with 176.25 points, and two-time PBR World Champion Chris Shivers of Jonesville, La., with 175.25 points. Shivers rode for the second straight night after suffering a sprained left shoulder and bruised left elbow and knee on Thursday.
Cody Campbell of Summerville, Ore., finished third in Round 3 with 87.75 points on Depths of Despair (Box K Cattle), while Wiley Petersen of Fort Hall, Idaho, Ross Coleman of Molalla, Ore., and Jason O’Hearn of Rothbury, Australia, tied for fourth with 87.25 points each.
For more information on the 2010 World Finals, please visit www.pbr.com.
The Finals consist of six rounds of competition. The first five rounds feature all of the riders matched against the toughest bulls. The scores from the five rides will be combined, and the Top 15 riders will advance for an additional round of competition, following the completion of Round 5 on Sunday, Oct. 24.
Injury Report: Ben Jones will undergo a CAT scan and is probable. J.B. Mauney suffered a bruised left leg and already had a separated shoulder. Mauney is listed as probable.
Round 3 Results for Top Five Riders in Built Ford Tough Standings
1. Austin Meier, Kinta, Okla., bucked off Hawaiian Ivory (Flying U/Cindy Rosser Bucking Bulls) in 4.0 seconds.
2. Renato Nunes, Buritama, Brazil, finished first with 89.25 points on Closet Gangster (Mesa Bucking Bulls/Bierema Rodeo).
3. J.B. Mauney, Mooresville, N.C., bucked off Little Hummer (Humpz and Hornz) in 2.6 seconds.
4. Valdiron de Oliveira, Aparecida de Goiania, Brazil, finished 17th with 82.75 points on Reddy Freddie (Jeff Robinson Bucking Bulls).
5. Ryan McConnel, Coalgate, Okla., bucked off Bible Bender (Don Kish Bucking Bulls) in 6.4 seconds.
2010 Built Ford Tough World Finals at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas
PBR World Finals Event Leaders
1. Renato Nunes, Buritama, Brazil, 267.25 points.
2. Wesley Lourenco, Santo Antônio da Barra, Brazil, 263.25 points.
3. Ned Cross, Midland, Ore., 178.75 points.
4. Dustin Elliott, North Platte, Neb., 176.25 points.
5. Chris Shivers, Jonesville, La., 175.25 points.
Round 3, Oct. 22
A – 15,684
1. Renato Nunes, Buritama, Brazil, 89.25 points on Closet Gangster (Mesa Bucking Bulls/Bierema Rodeo).
2. Wesley Lourenco, Santo Antônio da Barra, Brazil, 88.25 points on Foolish Pride (4L & Diamond S Rodeo Company).
3. Cody Campbell, Summerville, Ore., 87.75 points on Depths of Despair (Box K Cattle Company).
4. Wiley Petersen, Fort Hall, Idaho, 87.25 points on Pandemic (Mark Ward); Ross Coleman, Molalla, Ore., 87.25 points on RFD-TV (Teague Bucking Bulls, LLC/RFD-TV, LLC);
Jason O’Hearn, Rothbury, Australia, 87.25 points on Over the Edge (Lufkin Ranch & Rodeo).
Round 2, Oct. 21
A – 13, 477
1. Valdiron de Oliveira, Aparecida de Goiania, Brazil, 91.5 points on Spit Fire (Boyd/Floyd Bull Company).
2. Ned Cross, Midland, Ore., 91 points on Black Pearl (Ravenscroft / Boyd-Floyd Bull Co.).
3. Wesley Lourenco, Itajobi, Brazil, 89.5 points on Red Hot (Big Country).
4. Renato Nunes, Buritama, Brazil, 89 points on Chicken on a Chain (Robinson/Tedesco/Larry the Cable Guy).
5. Chris Shivers, Jonesville, La., 88.25 points on Mission Accomplished (4L & Diamond S Rodeo Company).
Round 1, Oct. 20
A – 9,127
1. Dustin Elliott, North Platte, Neb., 89.25 points on Hee Bee Gee Bee (Boyd/Floyd Bull Company).
2. Renato Nunes, Buritama, Brazil, 89 points on Pit Boss (Ace of Spades Ranch).
3. Beau Hill, West Glacier, Mont., 88.75 points on Flirting with Disaster (Hart Cattle Co/Switchouse Ranch/Plummer).
4. Douglas Duncan, Alvin, Texas, 88.5 points on Copp Hou (Lightning C Cattle Company).
5. Pete Farley, 88.25 points on Wish This (Don Kish Bucking Bulls).
2010 World Standings
1. Austin Meier, Kinta, Okla., 10,977.25 points.
2. Renato Nunes, Buritama, Brazil, 10,858.25 points.
3. J.B. Mauney, Mooresville, N.C., 10,650.5 points.
4. Valdiron de Oliveira, Aparecida de Goiania, 9,966 points.
5. Ryan McConnel, Coalgate, Okla., 8,480 points.
2010 World Champion Bull Contenders
1. Major Payne (Robinson/Katich/Pinnacle Bull Group), 45.5 points.
2. Bones (Teague Bucking Bulls, LLC), 45.25 points.
Bushwacker (Julio Moreno/Richard Oliveira), 45.25 points.
4. Uncle Buck (Jeff Robinson/Cappello/Teague), 45 points.
5. Highway 12 (Robinson/Mesa), 44 points.
Chicken on a Chain (Robinson/Tedesco/Larry the Cable Guy), 44 points.
7. Big Tex (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Clay Struve), 43.8 points.
8. Voodoo Child (Robinson/Beutler/McNeely), 43.5 points.
About the Professional Bull Riders, Inc. (PBR)
The PBR is the world’s premier bull riding organization. More than 100 million viewers annually watch over 400 hours of primetime PBR programming on VERSUS, NBC, CBS and networks around the world. The PBR has awarded over $100 million in prize money and 20 riders have earned over $1 million including Justin McBride with $5.5 million, the most of any western-sports athlete in history. The PBR was nominated as 2010 Sports League of the Year at the Sports Business Journal Sports Business Awards alongside the National Football League, National Basketball Association and Major League Baseball. Nearly two million fans attend elite Built Ford Tough Series and Touring Pro Division events each year. For more information on the PBR, go to www.pbr.com, or follow on Facebook at www.facebook.com/TeamPBR and http://twitter.com/TEAMPBR.
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