Monster Energy Bull Riders Qualify for PBR Finals

Once again, a half-dozen Monster Energy bull riders — John Crimber, 3; Kaique Pacheco, 10; Jose Vitor Leme, 18; Derek Kolbaba, 27; Daylon Swearingen, 28; and Boudreaux Campbell, 35 — are headed to the 2025 PBR World Finals.

“That’s all you live for,” said Crimber, who is competing with a broken collarbone.

Though doctors indicated he needed six weeks for the bone to heal, the 19-year-old sat out two elite Unleash the Beast tour events and said, “If you’re a bull rider, you want to ride bulls.”

On the strength of winning two of the first three regular-season events, Crimber was the No. 1 ranked rider in the world for the first nine weeks of his sophomore season. He is covering a team-leading 54 percent of his bulls, including five for 10 in the Championship Round. He’s won six rounds—two of which also came in the final round—and has logged five of his 17 90-plus point rides this season. 

Leme, a two-time World Champion and longtime Monster Energy rider, won the Ontario, California, event in week two to give Monster riders the first three event wins of the current season and Kolbaba made it four of five events with a fifth week win in Manchester, New Hampshire. 

“I’m getting better. I’m feeling better,” said Leme, who is trying to come from behind to challenge for a third gold buckle despite missing significant time because of a broken left riding hand. “I’m riding good, so I’m feeling good. When everything is fine, you just gotta keep rolling.”

Speaking of rolling, Pacheco has silently put himself in position to, perhaps, win his second good buckle. 

He has covered 52 percent of his bulls, including three for 90-plus points and three round wins. Pacheco and Crimber are among the Top 10 riders in attempted bulls. 

An event win at the Finals would be his first since Milwaukee in 2023, but with the points available in Fort Worth, Texas, and nearby Arlington, it could be enough to give Pacheco, who won the title 2018, a second $1 million bonus paid to the PBR World Champion. 

Kolbaba and Swearingen have had similar seasons. 

Both have competed with injuries, and both have missed time because of those nagging issues. Both are riding right at 37 percent and while Swearingen has not won an event since he claimed the Finals event average when he won the world title in 2022, Kolbaba won the Manchester event before injuries pushed him out of the Top 10 in the standings.

Campbell, the 2020 PBR Rookie of the Year, has struggled with consistency issues, but is hoping to improve upon his 33 percent riding average. 

The Finals will take place beginning Thursday, May 8 in Fort Worth before concluding Saturday and Sunday, May 17 and 18 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington. 

“I want to chase that buckle,” Leme said during a television interview the final week of the regular season in Tacoma, Washington. “It’s not over yet.”

Crimber added, “It doesn’t get much better than this.”