Photo by: Bullstock Media

It’s one of the most suspenseful moments that can be found in extreme sports. The rider has a brief time for his instinct to tell him the bull looks like it will give an optimal performance. The bull loses energy with every second as the clock ticks toward zero, but if he is disoriented when the rider gives the signal to open the chute, the rider is less likely to become one with the kicking beast and make the eight-second mark. The best of the best rack up points that qualify them for the Professional Bull Riders’ Unleash The Beast World Finals in Las Vegas, the highlight of PBR’s World Finals Week.

The trail to Vegas starts every year in Madison Square Garden and winds throughout the country wherever there is a concentration of cowboy culture. PBR stars from Brazil, Canada, Australia, Mexico and the United States score points in cities such as Billings, Mont., Houston, Greensboro, N.C., Minneapolis and Sioux Falls, S.D., until November when T-Mobile Arena is transformed into a state-of-the-art rodeo ring.

A transformation is happening within the sport itself as well. The first generation of future riders born after Ty Murray and friends formed the PBR a quarter-century ago is all grown up. Kings of the sport such as J.B. Mauney and Silvano Alves are passing the torch to competitors like 2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco, who dreamed of winning the PBR as he grew up in Brazil.

Photo by: Bullstock Media

Pacheco overcame injuries last year to score the most points throughout the season and earn a coveted gold belt buckle, although he was in too much pain in Las Vegas to make a good event showing. The World Finals Event winner was Marco Eguchi, who earned a career-high $372,000 and was ranked No. 5 in the year-end standings. This year Eguchi was No. 8 with one more Unleash the Beast event before T-Mobile Arena, while Pacheco’s injuries sidelined him for the current season.

That leaves competitors such as Jose Vitor Leme, who finished No. 2 in last year’s final world standings and was leading the pack in points this year in mid-October. Jess Lockwood landed on his head last month in Greensboro, where Mauney suffered a broken fibula, but was hot on Leme’s heels at No. 2. Chase Outlaw, João Ricardo Vieira and Cooper Davis rounded out the top five riders, while rising crowd favorites such as Mason Taylor, Daylon Swearingen and Ryan Dirteater aim to break into the top 10 by the end of World Finals.

PBR Finals Week has much more going on during its five-day run. The PBR Finals Week Western Gift Expo 2019 takes place at South Point Arena inside South Point Hotel. Pre-event concerts happen daily beginning Wednesday at Toshiba Plaza, adjacent to T-Mobile Arena, with a lineup including Casey Barnes, Chase Bryant, Kasey Tyndall and Chevel Shepherd of NBC’s The Voice. Parties, fan encounters and offbeat events can be browsed at pbrfinalsweek.com, but in the end it all centers around one rider and one bull, eight seconds at a time.

T-Mobile Arena, 6:40 p.m. Nov. 6-7, 7:40 p.m. Nov. 8-9, 12:40 p.m. Nov. 10, single day starting at $45, five-day package starting at $226.20 plus tax and fee. 888.929.7849 AXS