When the dust settled on the first phase of the 2025 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) World Finals: Unleash The Beast on Sunday afternoon inside Cowtown Coliseum in Fort Worth, Texas, Dublin local Dalton Kasel solidified his world No. 1 rank, delivering a monster 90-point ride in Round 4 – one of four 90-point rides on the day – to finish Eliminations sixth and grow his lead to 238 points over No. 2 Brady Fielder (Clermont, Queensland, Australia). All four days of Eliminations welcomed sold-out crowds as the race to earn this season’s World Championship ratcheted up.
While Kasel went 2-for-4 during the opening phase of the 2025 PBR World Finals, two-time World Champion Jose Vitor Leme (Ribas do Rio Pardo, Brazil) made a huge statement, going 4-for-4 to win Eliminations and vault from No. 18 to No. 6 in the world.
Kasel, who rides for the Austin Gamblers in the separate PBR Teams league, stumbled on the opening two nights of competition, bucked off by Good Riddance (Sterk Bucking Bulls) in 2.96 seconds in Round 1and Top Dollar (Hookin’ W Ranch/ DeHoff/Beach) in 6.16 seconds in Round 2.
The reserved Texan, however, reversed his fortunes in Round 3, besting The Kraken (Blake Sharp/UB Bucking Company) for 88.75 points. His momentum continued in Round 4 when he capitalized on a re-ride, dominating Hoobastank (Blake Sharp/ Hanks) for a monstrous 91 points.
Finishing sixth at Eliminations, Kasel earned a crucial 125 Unleash The Beast points. While he began Eliminations with a 126point lead over No. 2 Fielder, he now leads the Texas Rattler by 238 points.
Courtesy of his No. 1 rank, Kasel earned the first direct berth to the 2025 PBR World Finals – Championship on May 17-18 at AT&T Stadium in nearby Arlington. The two-day event will be the final stage of the World Finals, determining the 2025 PBR World Champion.
No. 1 Kasel, No. 2 Fielder, No. 4 Guiton and No. 6 Leme will be joined by the following 11 riders who also advance to the Championship via their rank inside the Top 15 of the Unleash The Beast standings: No. 3 John Crimber (Decatur, Texas); No. 5 Sage Steele Kimzey (Strong City, Oklahoma); No. 7 Luciano De Castro (Guzolandia, Brazil); No. 8 Paulo Eduardo Rossetto (Colorado, Brazil); No. 9 Cort McFadden (Novice, Texas); No. 10 Keyshawn Whitehorse (McCracken Spring, Utah); No. 11 Austin Richardson (Dallas, Texas); No. 12 Kaiden Loud (Kaufman, Texas); No. 13 Andrew Alvidrez (Seminole, Texas); No. 14 Kaique Pacheco (Itatiba, Brazil); and No. 15 Hudson Bolton (Milan, Tennessee).