PBR’s Elite Unleash The Beast Returns to Greensboro for Second Consecutive Season
Tickets for the league’s Greensboro Invitational on sale Friday, June 7 at 10 a.m. EDT
GREENSBORO, North Carolina – For the second time in as many years, PBR’s (Professional Bull Riders) elite tour, featuring the Top 35 bull riders in the world and rankest bucking bulls in the nation, will invade Greensboro, North Carolina. The Greensboro Invitational, the 25th stop on the premier PBR Unleash The Beast, will buck into the Greensboro Coliseum for two days of edge-of-your-seat action on October 12-13.
The bull riding action begins with Round 1 at 6:45 p.m. ET on Saturday, October 12, concluding with Round 2 and the championship round at 1:45 p.m. ET on Sunday, October 13. All 35 bull riders will get on one bull each in Round 1 and 2. Following Round 2 on Sunday afternoon, the riders’ individual two-round scores will be totaled with the Top 15 advancing to the championship round for one more out and a chance at the $30,000 event title.
Tickets for the two-day event go on sale Friday, June 7 at 10:00 a.m. EDT and start at $15. They can be purchased at the Greensboro Coliseum Box Office, or online at Ticketmaster.com.
Hailing from nearby Statesville, two-time World Champion J.B. Mauney is anticipated to once again highlight the Tar Heel State draw. Last season in his home state, Mauney delivered a 1-for-3 effort to finish 13th overall. No stranger to success in North Carolina, Mauney won the 2012 event in Greensboro. In the current world rankings, Mauney is inside the Top 30 as he seeks to qualify for his 14th PBR World Finals.
Historically, Mauney is one of four World Champions to win a PBR premier series event in Greensboro. The remaining World Champion victors are: three-time World Champion Adriano Moraes (2001), two-time World Champion Chris Shivers (2003 & 2005), and two-time World Champion Justin McBride (2004 & 2007).
In 2019, four additional World Champions are also expected to ride alongside Mauney in North Carolina: Kaique Pacheco (2018), Jess Lockwood (2017), the youngest rider in history to be crowned the planet’s best bull rider at 20, Cooper Davis (2016) and Silvano Alves (2014, 2012, 2011).
Thus far in 2019, fans have watched another fierce race for the world title and million dollar bonus playing out during the tour’s action-packed first half. All expected to ride in Greensboro, the Top 5 riders in the world standings, No. 1 Jose Vitor Leme,No. 2 Joao Ricardo Vieira, No. 3 Chase Outlaw, No. 4 Lockwood and No. 5 Cody Teel are separated by fewer than 1,500 points.
As the 25th and one of the final regular season events for the 2019 Unleash the Beast, the Greensboro Invitational promises fierce competition as the Top 35 battle it out for crucial world points towards the PBR World Championship.
Last season in Greensboro, Matt Triplett captured his first premier series event victory of the 2019 season. As one of two riders to go a perfect 2-for-2, the Montana rider earned 555 world points for the victory, surging from No. 23 to No. 15 in the world rankings. Part of a late-season surge for the now 27-year-old, Triplett finished the season No. 13 in the world after winning Round 1 and finishing fifth overall at the 2018 PBR World Finals.
In the league’s 26-year history, the PBR Unleash The Beast has made 30 stops in the state of North Carolina, with 11 of those events taking place in Greensboro. The remaining winners in Greensboro include: Gilbert Carrillo (1999), Danny Varnadore (2000), Jim Sharp (2002), Reuben Geleynse (2004) and Ricky McDonald (2006).
For an enhanced PBR experience, fans can now purchase PBR Elite Seats and Premium Experiences, which provide a behind-the-scenes look into the toughest sport on dirt.
These premium options include early entry; tickets to a premium seating section; a catered reception; a pre-event, backstage tour by a PBR Host, featuring a PBR 101 presentation and visit with the sport’s fiercest bovine athletes; and the opportunity for photos and autographs from the sport’s top stars. After the event, ticketholders also will be given premium dirt access, where they can get their complimentary 2019 PBR program, Elite Seat lanyard and other memorabilia autographed by the Top 35 bull riders in the world.
For more information on the upgraded experiences fan can contact PBR Direct at 800-732-1727.
The PBR season consists of 26 regular-season stops, traveling to cities such as Chicago, New York, Houston, Los Angeles and many more. The season will culminate with the PBR World Finals at Las Vegas’ T-Mobile Arena Nov. 6-10, when the 2019 PBR World Champion, the bull rider who earns the most world standings points during the season, will receive the coveted World Championship belt buckle and $1 million bonus.
About the PBR (Professional Bull Riders)
The world’s premier bull riding organization began as a dream of 20 bull riders 26 years ago and now operates in five countries. On its elite tour, the organization features the top 35 bull riders in the world and the top bulls in the business. The televised PBR Unleash The Beast, along with the PBR Pendleton Whisky Velocity Tour (PWVT), the PBR Touring Pro Division (TPD) and the PBR’s international circuits in Australia, Brazil, Canada and Mexico have paid nearly $184 million in earnings to its athletes. Thirty-nine bull riders have earned more than $1 million, including two-time PBR World Champion J.B. Mauney who is the top-earning athlete in Western sports history with more than $7.3 million in career earnings. PBR is part of the Endeavor network. For more information on the PBR, go to PBR.com, or follow on Facebook at Facebook.com/PBR, Instagram at Instagram.com/PBR, and YouTube at YouTube.com/PBR.