Wing wins Round 4, Sanderson retains World Finals lead

Highlights

  • Caleb Sanderson is a perfect four-for-four in Las Vegas, one full score ahead of his event rivals.
  • Only Valdiron de Oliveira and Robson Palermo are within distance of upsetting Silvano Alves for the title.
  • Stormy Wing wins Round 4 with 90 points on Delco.

In This Article

LAS VEGAS - Caleb Sanderson has become the only rider to cover every bull at the 2011 Built Ford Tough World Finals, and heads into the final day of competition with the chance to earn $250,000 as the World Finals event winner. Silvano Alves continues to lead the race for the PBR Built Ford Tough Series World Championship with 13,161.5 points. He is three-for-four at the World Finals, and in fifth place in the average with 254 points.

Round 5 begins at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday at the Thomas & Mack Center, and will have every rider competing. It will be immediately followed by the Built Ford Tough Championship Round, which will feature the 15 riders with the highest cumulative scores. Tickets are available at the Thomas & Mack Center box office, www.UNLVTickets.com, and by telephone at (866) PBR-SHOW.

The World Champion will receive a $1 million bonus and the coveted World Champion buckle. The winner will be the rider with the most Built Ford Tough Series points accumulated during the regular season and the World Finals.

There are 3,500 possible points available on Sunday: The winner of the event will receive 2,500 points, and each round win is worth 400 points plus the ride score (0-100 points).

Valdiron de Oliveira is in second place in the world title standings, 2,050 points behind Alves, and Robson Palermo is in third place, 3,433.75 points back.

The World Finals is the richest bull riding event on the planet, with a total purse of $2.2 million.

Sanderson has led or been tied for the World Finals event lead every day, and won Round 1 outright. He has 348.25 points for the five-day event so far, and is followed by rookie Rubens Barbosa with 264.75 points, and 2008 World Champion Guilherme Marchi with 264.5 points. Robson Palermo is in fourth place in the event standings (the "average") with 263.25 points.

Stormy Wing won Round 4 on Saturday in front of 16,232 fans, riding Delco (Hebert Bucking Bulls/Georgia Akers) for 90 points to earn $25,000. Marchi finished second in the round with 90 points on Sancho (Circle T Ranch & Rodeo), and Barbosa was third with 88.75 points on Motown Magic (Circle T Ranch & Rodeo).

The World Champion Bull will also be determined on Sunday. The World Champion will be the bull who accumulates the highest total bull score from Friday's Round 3 and the Built Ford Tough Championship Round on Sunday.

Top-ranked Bushwacker (Julio Moreno/Richard Oliveira) leads with 48.5 points (out of a possible 50 points per out), followed by Asteroid (Circle T Ranch & Rodeo) with 47.5 points. RMEF Gunpowder & Lead (Jeff Robinson Bucking Bulls) is in third place with 46.25 points, and Smackdown (Dakota Rodeo/Chad Berger/Struve/Rosen) is fourth with 45 points.

Bushwacker's Friday score was the highest bull score of the season, and he improved to 13-0 in BFTS outs on Friday. He has bucked off 25 consecutive riders, and is 27-1 all-time in BFTS outs. Asteroid outscored Bushwacker in Tulsa, Okla., San Antonio, and Springfield, Mo.

Smackdown has bucked off 15 riders in a row to improve to 15-1 in 2011, and 30-5 overall in BFTS events since 2009. RMEF Gunpowder & Lead has produced six round wins, including four in Built Ford Tough Championship Rounds, and has been responsible for three of the Top 4, and five of the Top 20 ride scores in 2011.

Back Bender (Ackerman/Cox) won the 2011 American Bucking Bull Inc. Classic Championship - a year-long competition for 3- and 4-year-old bulls - and $250,000 Saturday with 182 points in two outs, edging Bad Blake (Lightning Cattle Co.) by a quarter of a point. Black Widow (Lufkin Ranch and Rodeo) finished third with 179.25 points, followed by V-5 (Henry Wilson/Marty Foutch), and Santiago (Clymer Rodeo Livestock). Bushwacker was the 2010 ABBI Classic winner.

The 2011 PBR World Finals will be televised in HD on NBC at 4 p.m. ET on Sunday. DIRECTV will have the first-ever 3D broadcast of bull riding at 4 p.m. ET on DIRECTV's 3D channel, n3D™ (channel 103).

2011 Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough Series Standings
1. Silvano Alves, 12,782.5 points, $363,089
2. Valdiron de Oliveira, 11,111.5 points, $307,796
3. Robson Palermo, 9,727.75 points, $317,500
4. Guilherme Marchi, 8,483.5 points, $179,424
5. Austin Meier, 8,130.75 points, $179,424

2011 Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough World Finals Event Leaders
Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas
1. Caleb Sanderson, 348.25 points.
2. Rubens Barbosa, 264.75 points.
3. Guilherme Marchi, 264.5 points.
4. Robson Palermo, 263.25 points.
5. Silvano Alves, 254 points.
6. J. B. Mauney, 247 points.
7. Valdiron Oliveira, 177.5 points.
8. Pete Farley, 175.75 points.
9. Aaron Roy, 175.25 points.
10. Jock Connolly, 174.75 points.
11. Justin Koon, 174.75 points.
12. Fabiano Vieira, 172.25 points.
13. Cord McCoy, 170.75 points.
14. Brendon Clark, 170.5 points.
15. Stormy Wing, 169.75 points.
16. Douglas Ferreira, 91 points.
17. Sean Willingham, 89.75 points.
18. Ryan Dirteater, 88.25 points.
19. Mike Lee, 88.25 points.
20. Chris Shivers, 88.25 points.
21. Douglas Duncan, 88.25 points.
22. L.J. Jenkins, 87.5 points.
23. Kody Lostroh, 87.5 points.
24. Hector Cardona, 87 points.
25. Dusty Ephrom, 87 points.
26. Renato Nunes, 86.75 points.
27. Cody Campbell, 86.75 points.
28. Ben Jones, 86.25 points.
29. Harve Stewart, 86 points.
30. Austin Meier, 85.5 points.
31. Tyler Thomson, 85.25 points.
32. Paulo Lima, 84.75 points.
33. Jordan Hupp, 84 points.
34. Luke Snyder, 81.75 points.

2011 Professional Bull Riders Built Ford Tough World Finals
Round 4, Oct. 29 at Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas
1. Stormy Wing, 90.25 points.
2. Guilherme Marchi, 90 points.
3. Rubens Barbosa, 88.75 points.
4. Pete Farley, 88.5 points.
5. Robson Palermo, 88 points.
6. Caleb Sanderson, 87.5 points.
7. Silvano Alves, 87.25 points.
8. Renato Nunes, 86.75 points.
9. Valdiron Oliveira, 86.75 points.
10. Cord McCoy, 86.5 points.
11. Brendon Clark, 85.5 points.
12. Tyler Thomson, 85.25 points.
13. Paulo Lima, 84.75 points.

© 2013 PBR Inc. All rights reserved.

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