SIOUX FALLS, S.D. – In only his second Unleash The Beast event this season, Dener Barbosa (Paulo de Faria, Brazil) recorded a career-high 93.10 points atop No. 1 Pegasus to win Round 1 of the First PREMIER Bank PBR Sioux Falls at Denny Sanford PREMIER Center on Friday night.

No. 2 Red Demon briefly occupied the top rank in the YETI Championship Bull race after recording a 45.40-point bull score, but Pegasus quickly retaliated with 45.30 points to reclaim the No. 1 rank.

The opening round victory represents Barbosa’s first round win of the season, while his 93.10-point score stands as the second-best score of the 2026 Unleash The Beast (UTB) season.

Barbosa earned 29 UTB points for the elite conversion and improved from No. 45 to No. 43.

Two-time PBR World Champion Jess Lockwood (Volburg, Montana) returned to the chutes following a two-month injury break and recorded an 89.15-point conversion aboard Stryker as the first cowboy to survive the requisite 8.

Lockwood advanced from No. 22 to No. 20 ahead of Saturday’s second round.

Daniel Keeping (Montague, Texas) made the most of his Round 1 opportunity atop I’m a Hostage, scored 89 points for his successful out. The 26-year-old netted 17 UTB points for his third-place finish.

Veteran Eduardo Aparecido (Gouvelandia, Brazil) matched Hermes (88.85 points) step-for-step during a re-ride attempt to earn fourth place honors and take home 16 UTB points, improving from No. 31 to No. 28.

After sitting out the premier series’ stop in Albuquerque, New Mexico, to rest up, 2022 PBR World Champion Daylon Swearingen (Piffard, New York) rounded out Friday night’s Top 5 courtesy of an 88.55-point ride on Undesire-A-Bull. Swearingen earned 15 UTB points and improved from No. 16 to No. 14.

No. 1 John Crimber (Decatur, Texas) went the distance atop Cherry Shot for 86.95 points and was showered with a raucous applause en route to extending his lead to 58.5 points over No. 2 Sage Steele Kimzey (Strong City, Oklahoma), who bucked off Cherry Chew in 3.15 seconds.

The top 10 in the world remain separated by only 309.50 points as the Unleash The Beast season winds toward PBR World Finals (May 7-17) in Fort Worth, Texas.

Action for the First PREMIER Bank PBR Sioux Falls will continue with Round 2 on Saturday, April 11 at 7:45 p.m. CT before concluding with Round 3, immediately followed by the Championship Round, on Sunday, April 12, at 1:45 p.m. CT.

Round 2’s event coverage is set to begin on Paramount+ at 8 p.m. CT while Sunday’s Paramount+ slate begins at 2 p.m. CT.

Unleash The Beast – First PREMIER Bank PBR Sioux Falls
Denny Sanford PREMIER Center – Sioux Falls, South Dakota  
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
1. Dener Barbosa, 93.1-0-0-0-93.10-29 Points.

2. Jess Lockwood, 89.15-0-0-0-89.15-18 Points.

3. Daniel Keeping, 89-0-0-0-89.00-17 Points.

4. Eduardo Aparecido, 88.85-0-0-0-88.85-16 Points.

5. Daylon Swearingen, 88.55-0-0-0-88.55-15 Points.

6. Cort McFadden, 88.25-0-0-0-88.25-14 Points.

7. Alex Junior da Silva, 87.75-0-0-0-87.75-13 Points.

8. John Crimber, 86.95-0-0-0-86.95-11.5 Points.

(tie). Claudio Montanha Jr., 86.95-0-0-0-86.95-11.5 Points.

Sage Steele Kimzey, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Brady Fielder, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Alex Cerqueira, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Marco Rizzo, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Julio Cesar Marques, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Maverick Smith, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Kaiden Loud, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Bob Mitchell, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Koltin Hevalow, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Cassio Dias, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Thiago Salgado, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Kaique Pacheco, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Luciano De Castro, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Alan de Souza, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Lucas Divino, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Kase Hitt, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Manoelito de Souza Junior, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 0-0-0-0-0.00

João Ricardo Vieira, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Andy Guzman, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Bruno Carvalho, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Mason Taylor, 0-0-0-0-0.00

JaCauy Hale, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Elijah Jennings, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Damien Krushall, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Romario Leite, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Zane Cook, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Macaulie Leather, 0-0-0-0-0.00

2026 Professional Bull Riders Unleash The Beast Standings
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5's, Points, Total Winnings)
1. John Crimber, 16, 1, 5, 714.50, $136,466.67

2. Sage Steele Kimzey, 14, 3, 4, 656.00, $174,487.62

3. Leandro Zampollo, 14, 0, 6, 595.50, $121,150.12

4. Brady Fielder, 16, 2, 4, 593.00, $150,954.17

5. Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 16, 1, 6, 492.00, $106,605.00

6. Dalton Kasel, 14, 2, 4, 488.50, $130,098.33

7. Alex Cerqueira, 16, 0, 3, 450.50, $80,515.00

8. Clay Guiton, 8, 0, 4, 409.50, $89,715.48

9. Cort McFadden, 13, 0, 2, 406.00, $48,430.48

10. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 15, 1, 1, 405.00, $71,991.67

11. Marco Rizzo, 16, 1, 3, 383.00, $93,640.00

12. Julio Cesar Marques, 15, 0, 3, 377.00, $72,055.48

13. Maverick Smith, 15, 0, 2, 367.00, $64,458.33

14. Daylon Swearingen, 12, 1, 1, 340.50, $106,050.00

14. Cassio Dias, 16, 1, 1, 340.50, $63,990.48

16. Kaiden Loud, 15, 0, 3, 336.00, $54,363.33

17. Claudio Montanha Jr., 16, 0, 2, 290.50, $41,898.81

18. Bob Mitchell, 13, 0, 2, 288.00, $40,681.67

19. Koltin Hevalow, 16, 0, 1, 246.50, $40,683.33

20. Jess Lockwood, 6, 1, 1, 233.00, $65,075.00

21. Andrew Alvidrez, 15, 1, 1, 229.00, $60,883.33

22. Thiago Salgado, 14, 0, 0, 224.00, $33,250.00

23. Callum Miller, 14, 0, 2, 209.00, $25,197.14

24. Felipe Furlan, 10, 0, 3, 197.00, $39,197.14

25. Kaique Pacheco, 16, 0, 1, 195.50, $17,975.00

26. Luciano De Castro, 14, 0, 2, 188.00, $28,469.64

27. Jose Vitor Leme, 10, 0, 1, 181.50, $25,350.00

28. Eduardo Aparecido, 15, 0, 1, 179.00, $29,340.00

29. Bruno Carvalho, 11, 0, 0, 177.50, $6,900.00

30. Alan de Souza, 15, 0, 1, 176.00, $18,800.00

31. Hudson Bolton, 8, 0, 1, 173.00, $38,062.50

32. Daniel Keeping, 15, 0, 0, 172.50, $20,800.00

33. Lucas Divino, 11, 0, 1, 141.00, $14,800.00

34. Kase Hitt, 13, 0, 1, 130.50, $14,232.14

35. Afonso Quintino, 15, 0, 0, 127.00, $11,307.14

36. Manoelito de Souza Junior, 11, 0, 1, 112.00, $17,750.00

37. Kade Madsen, 5, 0, 0, 106.00, $3,150.00

38. Trace Redd, 5, 0, 1, 87.00, $15,800.00

39. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 16, 0, 0, 86.00, $10,850.00

40. João Ricardo Vieira, 12, 0, 0, 84.50, $6,233.33

41. Austin Richardson, 8, 0, 0, 80.50, $12,875.00

42. Andy Guzman, 11, 0, 0, 78.00, $11,300.00

43. Dener Barbosa, 2, 0, 0, 65.00, $250.00

43. Alison dos Santos, 9, 0, 0, 65.00, $5,100.00

45. Alex Junior da Silva, 4, 0, 0, 42.00, $1,150.00

Photo courtesy of Bull Stock Media