The PBR Unleash The Beast Tour is approaching the midway point of the season after wrapping up its trip out west in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Three riders ranked inside the Top 12 were absent, including former No. 1 Dalton Kasel. That left the door open for the riders behind them, but only a handful took advantage.

Only 19 riders recorded a qualified ride in Utah, the lowest mark of the season. Those 19 riders combined for a season-low 25 qualified rides across the entire weekend.

Rossetto Gets His First Win

In a Team Challenge filled with missed opportunities, Paulo Eduardo Rossetto capitalized. His lone Team Challenge ride secured him the eighth seed entering the Short Round. He selected Scrappy and delivered 88.9 points, winning both the Championship Round and the event.

Rossetto finished with 176.65 points in the aggregate, 2.65 points ahead of John Crimber in second place. He earned 126 Event Points, jumping from eighth to fourth in the world standings. The victory marked his first event win of the season and the second UTB win of his career.

New No. 1

John Crimber nearly became the first back-to-back event winner on tour this season, but fell just short. Still, his performance was enough to claim the No. 1 ranking from Dalton Kasel, who did not compete.

Crimber scored 84 points in Round 1 aboard Snappy, then posted the event-high 90 points in Round 2 on Sucker Pop during a reride. The rides extended Crimber’s streak to seven consecutive qualified rides, a career best.

He entered the short round as the event leader but was bucked off Oyster Creek Brawler. Crimber still earned 92 Event Points, bringing his season total to a tour-leading 444.

Team Challenge Trouble

Friday’s Team Challenge doubleheader reflected the across-the-board struggles inside the Delta Center, producing only a single qualified ride across all four teams. Two of those teams, the Arizona Ridge Riders and the Oklahoma Wildcatters, tied their matchup with zero points each.

The lone ride belonged to Missouri Thunder rider Rossetto, who scored 87.75 points aboard Walk Hard in a reride attempt against the Kansas City Outlaws. The 3-0 Thunder handed the 1-1 Outlaws their first loss of the season.

It marked the Thunder’s third win and moved them to the top of the standings. However, Missouri has just three qualified rides in three games and remains the only Top 5 team with a ride percentage below 50 percent.

The 0-1-1 Arizona Ridge Riders and the 0-1-2 Oklahoma Wildcatters failed to record a score in their matchup, resulting in a tie.

Both teams sit at the bottom of the standings with the tour’s lowest ride percentages at 12.5 percent and 16.7 percent, respectively.

Marques Still Lurking

Former world No. 1 Julio Cesar Marques finished 15th in Salt Lake City, but slipped into the Short Round due to injuries to other riders.

With an 86.05-point ride in Round 1, Marques again put himself in position for his first event win of the season. However, he fell short in his final two outs by a combined 0.89 seconds, including a heartbreaking 0.04-second miss in the short round against the undefeated Buck Nasty.

Marques now sits sixth in the world standings.

Cerqueira Breaks Into Top 10

After hovering in the mid-teens of the standings in recent weeks, Alex Cerqueira finally cracked the Top 10.

Cerqueira went 2-for-3 in Utah, finishing third overall. He won Round 1 with 88.9 points on Stryker and followed with 84.95 points aboard Grey Goose in Round 2. He nearly covered I’m a Hostage in the Short Round, lasting 7.24 seconds.

Cerqueira currently holds a 55 percent riding percentage this season, the best of his career and 22 percent higher than his career average.

Fielder Finds Momentum

Brady Fielder returned to form with a fourth-place finish, riding two bulls for a total of 169.8 points. It was his best finish since winning Boston and marked his first Short Round appearance since that victory.

Fielder sits eighth in the world standings but leaves Salt Lake City with a strong performance he can build on moving forward.

Guiton Injured in Scary Wreck

World No. 2 Clay Guiton suffered a serious injury during his Round 2 ride aboard Lieutenant Dan on Saturday night.

The 20-year-old was chasing a potential event-leading score when he was bucked off and struck multiple times while on the ground. He was removed on a backboard, appearing unconscious and wearing a neck brace.

Guiton suffered a severe concussion, confirmed by his mother in the comments of a PBR social media post. Following Saturday night’s event, it was reported that Guiton was alert and communicating. As of Monday, he had been discharged from the hospital and returned home to North Carolina.

He is expected to be sidelined for several weeks as he recovers.