2018 World Champion Kaique Pacheco may have left T-Mobile Arena this past November without a gold buckle or World Finals event title, but the perennial title contender once again proved he is not going to back down from a challenge.
While many other riders were in awe watching reigning two-time World Champion Jose Vitor Leme march his way to the World Championship, Pacheco, respectfully, never threw in the towel or laid out a gold-buckle carpet for Leme. Instead, Pacheco dug deep, putting forth the greatest World Finals performance of his career, forcing Leme to ride to a World Championship on the final day of the 2021 season.
In fact, this past World Finals was the second time in PBR history that the World Champion rode all six bulls at the Finals and the runner-up in the title race rode five.
The last time that happened?
The epic 2013 World Championship race between J.B. Mauney and Silvano Alves.
Alves, of course, was the rider who went 5-for-6 as Mauney went a perfect 6-for-6, capping off one of the greatest comebacks in PBR history.
“Nothing will compare to 2013,” Alves said with a laugh inside T-Mobile Arena during this year’s World Finals. “This was a great battle. Jose was great. Kaique was great. This week, both were great.”
Fans can relive the 2013 title race during this weekend’s broadcast of PBR Rivalries Sunday at 10 p.m. ET on RidePass on Pluto TV.
Mauney also finished runner-up in the 2009 world title race after going 8-for-8 at the World Finals. 2009 World Champion Kody Lostroh held off Mauney with a 7-for-8 performance.
It should be no surprise that Pacheco did not back down in the 2021 World Championship race.
Pacheco was just 21 years old when he first fearlessly attempted to challenge for a world title as a rookie against a legend by the name of J.B. Mauney. Pacheco then spent the next two years heartbreakingly finishing runner-up to 2016 World Champion Cooper Davis and 2017 World Champion Jess Lockwood.
A World Championship battle-tested Pacheco then held off Leme for the 2018 world title despite tearing ligaments in his left knee days before the 2018 PBR World Finals, ending his streak of three consecutive bridesmaid finishes in the world title race.
Pacheco may come across as a man of a few words, but his actions speak loudest in the arena. A 5-for-6 showing at the 2021 PBR World Finals may be evidence of Pacheco tapping into a new level of potential in 2022.
If Leme did not make the greatest bull ride in PBR history aboard Woopaa (98.75 points) on Championship Sunday, Leme and Pacheco would have split the World Finals event title this past year.
“Even though Kaique did not win the title this year, he has an opportunity for another one,” Alves said. “Both Jose and Kaique did a good job. It was a good match. It was great watching, and both of them are the best bull riders of the world.
Pacheco finished 2021 50-for-93 (53.76%) with a career-high nine 90-point rides and five event wins. He began the year with 10 90-point rides in his previous six seasons combined.
The 27-year-old’s 50 qualified rides were tops in the PBR, and he is the only rider in the past 10 seasons to have 50 or more rides on the premier series in multiple seasons. Coincidentally, Pacheco’s 52 qualified rides in 2016 were not enough to defeat Davis for the 2016 World Championship.
Pacheco also averaged a career-best 87.92 points per ride on the UTB to go with 10 round wins.
“I am really happy with my season, and I am really happy with my World Finals this year,” Pacheco told Kate Harrison in Las Vegas. “This is the best World Finals I make in my career, and I am really happy to ride my bulls. I am so glad.”
With the Unleash The Beast beginning the 2022 season on Jan. 1 in Indianapolis, there will be plenty of questions about who may rise to the challenge to step up end Leme’s reign atop the world standings.
In 2014, Alves bounced back from Mauney’s historic comeback to go on his own memorable come-from-behind run to win the 2014 World Championship.
Now plenty of eyes will be on Pacheco to see if he can attempt to challenge Leme once again in 2022 and build off the best World Finals performance of his career.