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PBR's Austin Gamblers to be led by Brazilian world champion Jose Vitor Leme

rick cantu, austin american-statesman
·2 min read

It was no surprise that the Austin Gamblers selected Brazilian superstar Jose Vitor Leme with the first pick of the Professional Bull Riders draft Monday.

Leme, 25, is a two-time world champion who currently ranks first in PBR standings. This will be Austin's first season as a member of the organization's team series.

Austin will host Gambler Days, a three-day weekend homestand in which all eight teams of the PBR Team Series compete against each other, at Moody Center from Aug. 26-28. This will mark the first professional sporting event at the facility.

Leme, who became a bull rider at 18 after spending most of his younger days as a soccer player, is the sport's biggest attraction.

More: Michael Dell added to ownership team of Professional Bull Riders' Austin Gamblers

Jose Vitor Leme, right, joined by fellow bull riders Dalton Kasel, left, and Cooper Davis, was taken by the Austin Gamblers as the first pick of the Professional Bull Riders team draft Monday. He is a two-time world champion.
Jose Vitor Leme, right, joined by fellow bull riders Dalton Kasel, left, and Cooper Davis, was taken by the Austin Gamblers as the first pick of the Professional Bull Riders team draft Monday. He is a two-time world champion.

Perhaps his finest hour came last fall in Las Vegas. Leme, who rewrote the PBR record books in 2021, captured his second straight world championship with the highest-marked ride of all time. His total of 98.75 points, a huge mark in PBR circles, helped him become just the second rider in PBR history to win the world title in consecutive years.

It was a busy Monday for the Gamblers, who filled out their team roster with an assortment of draft picks.

In the second round, at No. 16 overall, the Gamblers picked 22-year-old Austin Richardson. The Dallas native and the current 11th-ranked rider in the world has five career 90-point rides and four event wins, including most recently in April, when he won the PBR Wrangler Invitational in Tacoma, Wash.

More: PBR's Austin Gamblers to officially launch franchise, reveal first jersey

This was an initial five-round draft that began the process of selecting which riders will be competing on their respective teams when the PBR Teams season begins July 25-26 in Cheyenne, Wyo.

Rounding out Austin's draft picks were three more riders ranked in world standings: Lucas Divino of Brazil (No. 17), Brazil's Claudio Montanha Jr. (No. 35) and Nebraska native Conner Halverson (No. 38).

PBR is the world’s premier bull riding organization. More than 500 bull riders compete in more than 200 events annually.

This article originally appeared on Austin American-Statesman: Austin pro bull riding team to be led by Brazilian world champion