Bull Rider Makes Greatest Comeback in PBR History To Win World Championship

Jose Vitor Leme of Brazil made the biggest comeback in Professional Bull Riders (PBR) history to win the 2025 World Finals: Unleash The Beast in Arlington, Texas.

Sidelined half the season with injuries, Leme came back from 31st in the standings by going a torrid 8-for-8 during bull riding’s crown jewel. Leme, who rides for the Austin Gamblers in the separate PBR Teams league, erased an 851-point deficit to beat out No. 2 Dalton Kasel (Muleshoe, Texas) by a mere 67.5 points to win the coveted gold buckle. He swept both the Eliminations and Championship to surge from No. 18 to No. 1. It was his third record-tying World Championship, tying a PBR record.

“I think everything happens for a reason,” added Leme, who has battled injury since winning his second world title two years ago. “I thought I was done for the season. God gave me energy to come back and do what I did. I’m so proud to be back, be healthy, do my best and win another title. Nothing is impossible, even if you’re down. God will put you in the right way to accomplish your dreams, and this is another dream come true for me.”

Leme’s march to the World Championship began last weekend in Fort Worth, Texas, at Cowtown Coliseum in a statement performance during Eliminations.

Going a perfect 4-for-4, Leme rode Whiplash (Blake Sharp/CB and Traci Lee/Richardson Land & Cattle) for 85 points in Round 1, Flapjack (Parker/OK Corralis/Gordon/D&H Cattle) for 87.5 points in Round 2, Triple Aught (Addi Drury/Nothin’ But Try/Diggers) for 89.25 points in Round 3, and Pegasus (McCoy Rodeo/Spencer Neil) for a mammoth 91.25 points in Round 4.

The perfect, event-winning performance during Eliminations netted Leme 353 Unleash The Beast points, catapulting him from No. 18 to No. 6 in the standings and within 623 points of No. 1 Kasel.

While Kasel was able to retain the No. 1 rank by going 2-for-4 and finishing sixth at the event’s opening stage, Leme was riding in seemingly unstoppable form.

“This is a special moment in my life,” Leme said. “I had a chance to step up and do my job. That’s what I came for: ride my bulls, do my part, and let God work on the rest.”

PBR Unleash The Beast
2025 PBR World Finals – Championship
AT&T Stadium – Arlington, Texas
Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Event Aggregate-Event Points)

1. Jose Vitor Leme, 88.75-90.5-89.25-91-359.50-734 Points.
2. Hudson Bolton, 0-77.75-87.5-88.25-253.50-344 Points.
3. Felipe Furlan, 88-0-0-88-176.00-232 Points.
4. Sage Steele Kimzey, 0-0-86.75-88.75-175.50-178.5 Points.

(tie). Kaiden Loud, 87-0-0-88.5-175.50-162.5 Points.

6. Sandro Batista, 0-0-86.25-87-173.25-133 Points.
7. Alan de Souza, 85.25-87-0-0-172.25-129 Points.
8. Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 74.75-84.75-0-0-159.50-89 Points.
9. Brady Fielder, 0-0-0-91-91.00-89 Points.
10. Lucas Divino, 0-0-0-90.75-90.75-55 Points.
11. Dalton Kasel, 0-0-0-90.25-90.25-43.5 Points.

(tie). Derek Kolbaba, 0-0-0-90.25-90.25-43.5 Points.

13. Andrew Alvidrez, 88.5-0-0-0-88.50-51 Points.
14. John Crimber, 88.25-0-0-0-88.25-43 Points.

(tie). Clay Guiton, 0-0-0-88.25-88.25-23 Points.

(tie). Daniel Keeping, 88.25-0-0-0-88.25-43 Points.

17. Cort McFadden, 86.75-0-0-0-86.75-28 Points.
18. Kaique Pacheco, 86-0-0-0-86.00-24 Points.
19. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 85.5-0-0-0-85.50-20 Points.

(tie). Elizmar Jeremias, 0-85.5-0-0-85.50-44 Points.

21. Claudio Montanha Jr., 84.5-0-0-0-84.50-13 Points.
22. Dener Barbosa, 0-83.5-0-0-83.50-36 Points.

Luciano De Castro, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Austin Richardson, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Leonardo Castro, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Koltin Hevalow, 0-0-0-0-0.00

Yan Victor Cunha, 0-0-0-0-0.00

2025 PBR Unleash The Beast Standings

(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5’s, Points, Total Winnings)

1. Jose Vitor Leme, 14, 3, 5, 1,494.00, $1,929,113.33
2. Dalton Kasel, 23, 5, 10, 1,426.50, $442,078.33
3. Brady Fielder, 23, 2, 10, 1,234.00, $322,520.83
4. John Crimber, 22, 2, 6, 950.00, $255,820.00
5. Sage Steele Kimzey, 22, 1, 5, 946.75, $218,895.83
6. Clay Guiton, 24, 1, 6, 905.00, $212,138.33
7. Hudson Bolton, 12, 0, 5, 849.50, $301,967.50
8. Paulo Eduardo Rossetto, 23, 1, 4, 779.25, $154,608.33
9. Kaiden Loud, 23, 0, 4, 776.00, $186,092.50
10. Luciano De Castro, 24, 2, 4, 709.83, $152,935.83
11. Cort McFadden, 25, 0, 6, 706.08, $104,279.17
12. Keyshawn Whitehorse, 24, 1, 3, 692.00, $140,205.00
13. Andrew Alvidrez, 22, 1, 4, 651.75, $169,375.00
14. Kaique Pacheco, 23, 0, 4, 621.00, $88,323.33
15. Austin Richardson, 21, 1, 4, 615.50, $152,090.00
16. Alan de Souza, 21, 0, 1, 614.00, $111,231.67
17. Sandro Batista, 17, 0, 2, 554.33, $111,445.83
18. Lucas Divino, 25, 2, 3, 537.00, $140,748.33
19. Felipe Furlan, 19, 0, 4, 517.00, $133,941.67
20. Leonardo Castro, 25, 0, 4, 502.75, $65,850.00
21. Claudio Montanha Jr., 26, 0, 3, 480.00, $54,515.00
22. Dener Barbosa, 25, 0, 2, 470.00, $55,079.17
23. Koltin Hevalow, 25, 0, 3, 441.00, $64,504.17
24. Eduardo Aparecido, 22, 1, 3, 440.50, $89,829.17
25. Anderson de Oliveira, 21, 0, 3, 439.83, $55,290.00
26. Julio Cesar Marques, 25, 1, 2, 403.33, $84,856.67
27. Elizmar Jeremias, 24, 1, 4, 401.50, $73,779.17
28. Derek Kolbaba, 19, 1, 2, 399.50, $82,094.17
29. Adriano Salgado, 24, 0, 2, 330.83, $43,296.67
30. Daylon Swearingen, 18, 0, 0, 320.50, $31,916.67
31. João Ricardo Vieira, 24, 0, 1, 283.00, $24,925.00
32. Daniel Keeping, 18, 0, 2, 274.50, $38,550.00
33. Leandro Zampollo, 18, 0, 0, 223.00, $7,883.33
34. Thiago Salgado, 16, 0, 2, 203.00, $34,350.00
35. Boudreaux Campbell, 21, 0, 1, 200.33, $17,852.50
36. Mason Taylor, 22, 0, 1, 199.33, $19,066.67
37. Vinicius Pinheiro Correa, 16, 0, 2, 188.00, $20,916.67
38. Ethan Winckler, 9, 0, 0, 175.50, $28,850.00
39. Dawson Branton, 17, 0, 0, 156.50, $14,600.00
40. Bruno Carvalho, 13, 0, 2, 143.50, $19,675.83
41. Miguel de Jesus, 2, 0, 0, 115.50, $2,600.00
42. Ezekiel Mitchell, 7, 0, 1, 114.00, $8,580.00
43. Alex Cerqueira, 16, 0, 0, 107.50, $3,477.50
44. Rogério Venâncio, 13, 0, 0, 94.58, $2,200.00
45. Mauricio Gulla Moreira, 12, 0, 0, 90.50, $5,908.33