Teenage phenom John Crimber goes a perfect 3-for-3 in Corpus Christi, Texas, to win the 2024 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals event title
By Kacie Albert
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – After an electric 31-event, record-setting 10th anniversary season, Grayson Cole (New Ringgold, Pennsylvania) emerged the supreme competitor, delivering a clutch ride on the final day of the campaign in Corpus Christi, Texas, to be crowned the 2024 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Champion, earning the accompanying $50,000 bonus.
As the event inside American Bank Center Arena got underway, Cole was No. 2 in the Velocity Tour Global standings, trailing No. 1 Ederson Santos (Ilha Solteira, Brazil) by 17.5 points. Following Round 1 of competition, the standings went unchanged as both Cole and Santos were bucked off, dispatched by Prince Charming (Julian Cattle #2) in 3.22 seconds, and Smoke Show (Jenkins Cattle Co.) in 3.04 seconds, respectively.
However, Santos aggravated an existing injury in Round 1, sidelined from competition as Championship Saturday got underway.
Cole seized the opportunity. Paired with Pearl Snap (Lonnie & Amy Austin) in the second round, he nodded with confidence, bursting from the chutes as the crowd erupted into a roar. Reaching the requisite 8 with ease, Cole was awarded what proved to be an event-best 89.25 points. The 8-second effort earned Cole 48 Velocity Global points, clinching him the title of 2024 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Champion.
While Cole was bucked off in the final round, tossed by Game Over (Cooper/Scruggs/Bishop) in 2.4 seconds, his ninth-place overall finish, which netted him 58 Velocity Global points, proved enough to win the year-end title.
When the dust settled, Cole earned the expansion series’ top honor by finishing 40.5 points ahead of No. 2 Santos.
In addition to the title of Velocity Tour Champion, and a bonus check for $50,000, Cole also earned one of five available berths to the 2024 PBR World Finals. The berth marks Cole’s second career qualification to bull riding’s most prestigious event, returning to the World Finals after his debut at the event in 2021.
Teenage phenom John Crimber (Decatur, Texas) rode lights out at the “Championship before the Championship,” going a flawless 3-for-3 to win the PBR Velocity Tour Finals event title.
Crimber, who will begin his career-first World Finals ranked No. 2 in the World Championship race, got off to a fast start in Round 1, delivering the round-winning score when he covered Spotted Demon (3B Cattle Co.) for 87 points.
The charismatic 18-year-old then furthered his stronghold on the event lead when he topped Kephart’s Solomon (G&H Cattle) for 88.25 points.
As the last man to leave the chutes in Corpus Christi, Crimber settled in atop Evil Intentions (Topline Steel Buildings/Barrett). Prior to his out, three other contenders had improved to a perfect 3-for-3, putting Crimber in a must-ride position, needing a score of 86.25 points or more to cement the event title.
Crimber remained centered atop the swift moving animal athlete, making the whistle for a crucial 86.75 points to win the 2024 PBR Velocity Tour Finals.
The golden finish earned Crimber a check for $32,250 and 302 Velocity Global points. He concluded the 2024 campaign No. 4 in the Velocity Global standings.
Alongside Cole, an additional four riders also punched their ticket to the 2024 PBR World Finals.
Claudio Montanha Jr. (Ribeirao dos Indios, Brazil) earned one of the coveted spots as the top finishing rider at the event not already qualified.
Montanha rode to a sixth-place finish by going 2-for-3. After bucking off Magnitude (Jenkins Cattle Co.) in a quick 2.09 seconds in Round 1, Montanha rebounded in resilient form on Championship Saturday. He first put points on the board in Round 2 when he bested Plowboy (Julian Cattle) for 86.25 points.
The affable Brazilian then continued to climb the leaderboard in the final round when he rode King Cornelius (Barrett Bucking Stock) for 84.75 points.
Dener Barbosa (Paulo de Faria, Brazil) and Jean Fernandes Pereira (Crixas, Brazil) will compete at the World Finals via their final rank in the Velocity Global standings. Barbosa concluded the year No. 3, while Pereira was No. 5.
Qynn Andersen (Koumala, Queensland, Australia) will make his World Finals debut as the top finishing international invite at the 2024 PBR Velocity Tour Finals. The 2022 PBR Australia Rookie of the Year finished 12th at the season-ending event courtesy of an 85-point ride on Redline (Barrett/D4).
PBR RidePass on Pluto TV will offer re-airs and on-demand replays of every PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour event. PBR RidePass is available on desktops, laptops and mobile devices via www.pluto.tv. Click here for on-demand PBR programming.
The 2024 PBR World Finals will get underway with Eliminations on May 9-12 in Fort Worth, Texas, at The 2024 PBR World Finals will begin with Eliminations at Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth from May 9-12. The competition will begin at 7:45 p.m. CDT on Thursday, May 9, 6:45 p.m. CDT on Friday, May 10 and Saturday, May 11, and 1:45 p.m. CDT on Sunday, May 12. During eliminations, each of the 45 competing riders will get on one bull daily. When the dust settles, the Top 15 in the Unleash The Beast standings, and Top 5 in the event not already advancing, will earn a direct berth to the Championship in Arlington the following weekend.
For those 25 riders who do not advance, they will look to Ride For Redemption on May 15-16 to keep their title hopes alive. Those contenders will be joined by 15 riders from a to-be-announced selection process. During Ride For Redemption, which begins at 7:45 p.m. CDT nightly, each rider will attempt one bull. At the conclusion of the ride-in rounds the Top 5 in the event will earn the final berths to The Championship.
Single-day tickets for both Eliminations and Ride For Redemption are on-sale now and can be purchased at PBR.com/WorldFinals, CowtownColiseum.com and AXS.com, or by phone at 1-800-732-1727.
The 2024 PBR World Finals will then conclude with the Championship on Saturday, May 18 at 7:45 p.m. CDT and Sunday, May 19 at 1:45 p.m. CDT in Arlington at AT&T Stadium. Inside the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, there will be two rounds of competition nightly. Following those four rounds, PBR will crown the World Champion, World Finals event winner, Rookie of the Year and more.
Single-day tickets for the PBR World Finals – Championship are on-sale now. They can be purchased online at ATTStadium.com, SeatGeek.com and PBR.com/WorldFinals, or by phone at 1-800-732-1727.
The complete schedule of programming accompanying the 2024 PBR World Finals: Unleash The Beast is available at PBR.com/WorldFinals.
Stay tuned to PBR.com for the latest news and results and be sure to follow the league on all social media platforms at @PBR.
PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour
PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Finals, presented by Coastal Bend Chevy Dealers
American Bank Center Arena – Corpus Christi, Texas
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Event Aggregate-Event Points)
- John Crimber, 87-88.25-86.75-262.00-302 Points.
- Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 85.25-87-89-261.25-221 Points.
- Ezekiel Mitchell, 83.5-86-84.75-254.25-150 Points.
- Brady Fielder, 83.5-77.25-87.5-248.25-91 Points.
- Kaiden Loud, 85.75-88-0-173.75-100 Points.
- Claudio Montanha Jr., 0-86.25-84.75-171.00-81 Points.
- Lucas Divino, 84-84.75-0-168.75-58 Points.
- Keyshawn Whitehorse, 75.25-83-0-158.25-29 Points.
- Grayson Cole, 0-89.25-0-89.25-58 Points.
- Elizmar Jeremias, 0-85.75-0-85.75-24 Points.
- Eric Henrique Domingos, 85.5-0-0-85.50-30 Points.
- Qynn Andersen, 0-85-0-85.00-16 Points.
- Marco Eguchi, 0-84.25-0-84.25-12 Points.
(tie). Alex Cerqueira, 84.25-0-0-84.25-22 Points.
- João Paulo Fernandes, 0-83-0-83.00-9 Points.
- Dener Barbosa, 0-82.75-0-82.75-8 Points.
- Dalton Rudman, 0-82.25-0-82.25-8 Points.
- Ramon de Lima, 80.75-0-0-80.75-6 Points.
- Michael Lane, 0-79-0-79.00-7 Points.
Ederson Santos, 0-0-0-0.00
Andrew Alvidrez, 0-0-0-0.00
Hunter Ball, 0-0-0-0.00
Kyler Oliver, 0-0-0-0.00
Daniel Keeping, 0-0-0-0.00
Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 0-0-0-0.00
Andy Bohl, 0-0-0-0.00
Dustin Herman, 0-0-0-0.00
Tyler Manor, 0-0-0-0.00
Thiago Salgado, 0-0-0-0.00
Paulo Ferreira Lima, 0-0-0-0.00
Kyle Eaton, 0-0-0-0.00
Callum Miller, 0-0-0-0.00
Alvaro Ariel, 0-0-0-0.00
Jean Fernandes Pereira, 0-0-0-0.00
Leonardo Castro, 0-0-0-0.00
Ednei Caminhas, 0-0-0-0.00
Leandro Zampollo, 0-0-0-0.00
Jake Morinec, 0-0-0-0.00
Nick Tetz, 0-0-0-0.00
Bill Henry, 0-0-0-0.00
João Henrique Lucas, 0-0-0-0.00
Cody Jesus, 0-0-0-0.00
Lucas Martins Costa, 0-0-0-0.00
Alan de Souza, 0-0-0-0.00
João Ricardo Vieira, 0-0-0-0.00
2024 PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour Global Standings
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5’s, Points, Total Winnings)
- Grayson Cole, 32, 3, 10, 742.00
- Ederson Santos, 23, 2, 9, 701.50
- Dener Barbosa, 17, 3, 6, 565.50
- John Crimber, 7, 4, 4, 560.50
- Jean Fernandes Pereira, 32, 3, 8, 504.33
- Dawson Branton, 11, 3, 6, 463.66
- Marco Rizzo, 15, 1, 7, 458.00
- Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 15, 0, 5, 456.50
- Ezekiel Mitchell, 8, 1, 4, 453.50
- Ramon de Lima, 19, 0, 6, 452.50
- Claudio Montanha Jr., 26, 0, 6, 437.16
- Thiago Salgado, 17, 2, 7, 403.33
- Guilherme Valleiras, 17, 2, 6, 382.00
- Eric Henrique Domingos, 19, 0, 3, 376.83
- Lucas Divino, 10, 2, 5, 373.50
- Jake Morinec, 11, 2, 3, 365.00
- Daniel Keeping, 12, 2, 4, 363.00
- Cody Coverchuk, 7, 2, 6, 362.00
- Marcelo Procopio Pereira, 30, 1, 5, 355.50
- Michael Lane, 9, 1, 3, 349.00
- Kyler Oliver, 12, 1, 3, 335.16
- Andrew Alvidrez, 12, 2, 3, 333.00
- Andrei Scoparo, 5, 1, 5, 318.50
- Hunter Ball, 20, 1, 3, 314.50
- Tyler Manor, 13, 2, 4, 307.50
- Qynn Andersen, 20, 0, 5, 301.50
- Marco Eguchi, 11, 0, 3, 301.00
- Boston Leather, 9, 2, 6, 300.50
- Lachlan Richardson, 8, 1, 3, 300.00
- Leonardo Castro, 11, 0, 5, 299.50
- Cort McFadden, 5, 2, 4, 298.00
- João Henrique Lucas, 14, 1, 5, 296.00
- Leandro Zampollo, 29, 0, 5, 291.49
- Dalton Rudman, 18, 0, 4, 290.50
- Warlei Oliveira da Silva, 11, 2, 4, 290.50
- Alvaro Ariel, 15, 1, 4, 287.00
- Nick Tetz, 9, 1, 6, 286.99
- Keyshawn Whitehorse, 11, 1, 5, 274.83
- Elizmar Jeremias, 16, 2, 5, 268.50
- Callum Miller, 10, 1, 4, 268.00
- Jake Gardner, 6, 1, 4, 257.00
- Dustin Herman, 23, 1, 2, 255.00
- Cody Heffernan, 4, 0, 3, 247.00
- João Paulo Fernandes, 12, 1, 2, 240.83
- Lucas Martins Costa, 8, 1, 3, 239.00
