Leme on Verge of Record-Tying Third World Title

In a tale of two incredible professional bull riders, “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times” as the 2023 PBR regular season unfolded with what seemed like as many injuries as there were elite, televised event wins.  

Two-time World Champion Jose Vitor Leme had missed half the season prior to the start of this week’s fast-approaching World Finals, while 2018 world title winner, Kaique Pacheco, had been dealing with a sore riding hand issue prior to breaking both bones in his lower right leg.  

Pacheco, who is currently the No. 1 ranked rider in the world, broke his leg in the championship round of the second-to-last event of the season, in Tacoma, Washington, and underwent surgery to insert a rod in his fibula the next afternoon in Dallas, Texas.  

In an emotional post on both Instagram and Facebook, the 29-year-old Brazilian wrote, “After thinking a lot and talking with the doctors, it was decided that I will not participate in the finals this year, a very difficult decision for me, but I believe that it will be the best one at that moment, mainly for my health.”  

Leme, the No. 2 rider in the world standings, had missed six events of his 11 combined events prior to returning to competition for the final regular-season event in Louisville, Kentucky. The fellow Monster Energy rider rode 2-of-3 bulls and finished second in the average to move within 74 points of Pacheco.  

For Leme, another world title would represent a record-tying third title.  

A feat only accomplished by Adriano Moraes and later Silvano Alves.  

Moraes needed thirteen seasons to win three, while Alves accomplished it in just his fifth season in the United States. Leme is in his sixth full season Stateside and would solidify the dynamic 26-year-old rider as arguablythe greatest PBR rider of all-time.  

The last time Leme won a gold buckle and the $1 million bonus that comes with being crowned World Champion, he broke the all-time scoring record of 96.5 points with 97.75 points on Woopaa in the 15/15 bucking battle in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  

The record had stood for a decade.  

That was July 31, 2021, and needed only 99 days to break his own record with 98.75 points on Woopaa as rode off with the title on November 7.  

Leme, a former semi-pro soccer player prior to switching sports and pursuing bull riding, has already proved himself to be the most athletic rider to win a title, but the 2023 season has proved his cowboy toughness with injuries to both groins—either of which could have just as easily ended his season.  

Leme spent time “refreshing the mind for the world finals” this past week by wakeboarding.  

He enters the opening round of the eight-round World Finals on the verge of history with a 157-point lead, but the two most probable contenders are also returning to competition on the heels of injuries giving yet another Monster Energy rider, Boudreaux Campbell, an opportunity to win the 2023 title.  

Campbell is seventh in the world and if he were to win the World Finals average—like he did in 2020—it could result in a championship season for the 24-year-old from Crockett, Texas.  

“Don’t let what you are comfortable doing stop you from what you are capable of doing,” Campbell wrote on Instagram.  

Derek Kolbaba, 35, and Chase Outlaw, 43, also qualified for the finals. Two-time World Champion Jess Lockwood, 36, who has missed substantial time because injuries, declined the invite and is hopeful he will be ready for the 2024 season along with the newest Daylon Swearingen.  

Swearingen, last year’s World Champion, missed most of this season with a torn groin. 

The World Finals will take place in Fort Worth, Texas, and take place Friday, Saturday, and Sunday this weekend and then conclude the following Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  

A world title by either Leme or Campbell would give Monster Energy it’s seventh consecutive title, eighth in the past nine years and nine in the past eleven years. 

2022: DAYLON SWEARINGEN 
2021: JOSE VITOR LEME  
2020: JOSE VITOR LEME  
2019: JESS LOCKWOOD  
2018: KAIQUE PACHECO  
2017: JESS LOCKWOOD  
2015: J.B. MAUNEY  
2013: J.B. MAUNEY  
2008: GUILHERME MARCHI