Coverchuk Crowned 2018 PBR Canada Champion

By: Kacie Albert  Saturday, November 24, 2018 @ 11:49 PM

Cody Coverchuk won his first PBR Canada Championship on Saturday night in Saskatoon. Photo by Covy Moore / CovyMoore.com

SASKATOON, Saskatchewan – In front of a record crowd at the SaskTel Centre, Cody Coverchuk (Meadow Lake, Saskatchewan) won the 2018 PBR Canada Championship, punctuating the fiercest title race in PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Canada history, a battle which came down to the event’s final out.

The home province hopeful began the 2018 PBR Monster Energy Canadian Finals, presented by Mac’s/Circle K and Dakota Dunes Casino going 1-for-2 Friday night, with his 8-second effort coming aboard Playing Chicken (Vold Rodeo) for 83 points in Round 1.  

Heading into the final rounds, Coverchuk was ninth overall in the event, and No. 3 in the national standings, 83.33 points behind then No. 1 Lachlan Richardson (Gresford, New South Wales, Australia).

Determined to earn his first Canadian Championship, Coverchuk won Round 3, courtesy of his 86.5-point ride on Timber Jam (Vold Rodeo/Dynamite Buckers), propelling him to the No. 1 spot in the country.

His qualified ride, however, was matched by 8-second efforts from both Richardson and No. 2 Brock Radford (De Winton, Alberta). Richardson covered Spot On (Wilson Rodeo) for 83 points, while Radford’s trip came aboard Twist of Barbwire (Thompson Rodeo Livestock) for 84.5 points.  

In the Championship Round, a 2.11-second buckoff by Richardson against Grey Eyes (Vold Rodeo) narrowed the race to a two-man showdown between Coverchuk and Radford.  

Brining the crowd to its feet, Coverchuk, the penultimate man to erupt from the chutes, rode Homegrown (Eno Bucking Bulls) for 86 points to surge to the top of the Canadian Finals event leaderboard and solidify his No. 1 ranking in the national standings.

With Radford earning a re-ride, the 2018 PBR Canada title was decided via the final out. While Radford rode Grey Tower (Vold Rodeo) for 85 points, the effort was not enough to overtake Coverchuk, who concluded the season 954.99 points ahead of Radford in the national standings.  

Coverchuk’s 3-for-4 effort, his career-best performance at the Canadian Finals, not only propelled him to the year-end title, but also earned him the event win.

The 24-year-old leaves Saskatoon with $8,475 in addition to 120 points towards the 2019 PBR World Standings, where he now ranks No. 4 on the planet. 

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For the second consecutive season, Radford concluded the season No. 2 in the national standings, ending the 2018 Canadian season third at the Canadian Finals to earn $3,150 and 40 world points. 

After entering the Finals the No. 1 man in Canada, Richardson, who finished 10th, will return to Australia No. 3.  

Matching Coverchuk, bovine athlete Happy Camper (Two Bit Bucking Bulls) also left Saskatchewan’s largest city with two titles. The 2018 PBR Canada Bull of the Year, Happy Camper was the high-marked bull of the event, scored 45.5 points for his 3.9-second buckoff of 2015 PBR Canada Champion Tanner Byrne (Prince Albert, Saskatchewan).  

In the event standings, two-time Glen Keeley Award Winner Dakota Buttar (Kindersley, Saskatchewan) finished second, competing at his first Canadian event since July.  

After delivering a 1-for-2 effort in the opening rounds, Buttar was flawless on the event’s final day, riding Done Talking (Eno Bucking Bulls) for 82 points in Round 3, and Tykro Pound Sand (Wild Hoggs/Corey Chmelnyk) for 87.5 points in the championship round.

He netted $6,487.50, in addition to 70 world points, concluding 2018 ranked No. 12 in Canada.

Backed by the third 90-point effort on Canadian soil in 2018, two-time national champion Zane Lambert (Ponoka, Alberta) finished fourth. Winning the championship round, Lambert made the 8 aboard Finning Young Trent (Flying Four Bucking Bulls) for 90 points. The ride was the first 90-point effort of the year on the Monster Energy Tour, and just second in the series’ three-year history.

Lambert earned $3,000 and 20 world points, finishing 2018 ranked No. 5 in the Canadian national standings. 

Three-time PBR Canada Champion Aaron Roy (Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan) rounded out event’s Top 5, propelling him to conclude the year No. 6 in Canada.

Much like Lambert, Roy’s finish, which earned him $2,160 and 15 world points, was backed by a high-scoring ride in the final round. He covered Blow Me Away (Vold Rodeo) for 87.5 points.  

The 2019 PBR Canada Monster Energy tour begins on January 26 at Bell MTS Place in Winnipeg, Manitoba with the Winnipeg Classic.

Fans can relive all the action from the 2018 PBR Canadian Finals on demand tomorrow at 8 a.m. ET on RidePass and on Tuesday November 27 at 11 p.m. ET on TSN2.

 

2018 PBR Monster Energy Canadian Finals, presented by Mac’s/Circle K and Dakota Dunes Casino

SaskTel Centre – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Event Leaders (Round 1-Round 2-Round 3-Round 4-Event Aggregate-Canadian Points)

1. Cody Coverchuk, 83-0-86.5-86-255.50-1618.33-120-$8,475
2. Dakota Buttar, 85.5-0-82-87.5-255.00-907.5-70-$6,487.50
3. Brock Radford, 84-0-84.5-85-253.50-675-40-$3,150
4. Zane Lambert, 83.5-0-0-90-173.50-550-20-$3,000
5. Aaron Roy, 84.5-0-0-87.5-172.00-425-15-$2,160
6. Tanner Byrne, 84.5-0-85-0-169.50-350-10-$1,515
7. Wyatt Gleeson, 0-82-86-0-168.00-270-2.5-$1,200
(tie). Daylon Swearingen, 0-85-83-0-168.00-327.5-2.5-$1,425
9. Edgar Durazo, 83-84-0-0-167.00-193.33-0-$675
10. Lachlan Richardson, 82.5-0-83-0-165.50-60-0-$0
11. Jared Parsonage, 86.5-0-0-0-86.50-250-0-$900
12. Logan Biever, 0-0-85-0-85.00-112.5-0-$337.50
13. Garrett Green, 83-0-0-0-83.00-18.33-0-$0
14. Thor Hoefer II, 0-82.5-0-0-82.50-112.5-0-$337.50
(tie). Nick Tetz, 0-82.5-0-0-82.50-112.5-0-$337.50
(tie). Austin Richardson, 82.5-0-0-0-82.50-2.5-0-$0
17. Marcos Gloria, 82-0-0-0-82.00-0-0-$0
18. Dayton Johnston, 0-81-0-0-81.00-40-0-$0
Todd Chotowetz, 0-0-0-0-0.00-0-0-$0
Tim Lipsett, 0-0-0-0-0.00-0-0-$0
Wacey Finkbeiner, 0-0-0-0-0.00-0-0-$0
Jake Gardner, 0-0-0-0-0.00-0-0-$0

 

2018 PBR Canada Standings

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

  1. Cody Coverchuk, 38, 3, 15, 3,927.49, $39,652.00
  2. Brock Radford, 24, 2, 10, 2,972.50, $41,242.85
  3. Lachlan Richardson, 21, 2, 13, 2,452.49, $38,256.62
  4. Jared Parsonage, 21, 5, 7, 2,182.49, $32,307.93
  5. Zane Lambert, 23, 1, 8, 1,959.16, $28,482.54
  6. Aaron Roy, 23, 3, 6, 1,817.50, $18,777.75
  7. Lonnie West, 20, 2, 6, 1,725.83, $22,222.42
  8. Marcos Gloria, 20, 2, 5, 1,655.00, $142,189.53
  9. Nick Tetz, 23, 1, 9, 1,490.00, $20,989.45
  10. Daylon Swearingen, 14, 0, 4, 1,307.49, $14,004.60
  11. Dayton Johnston, 37, 1, 7, 1,280.00, $19,450.40
  12. Dakota Buttar, 6, 1, 2, 1,227.50, $11,673.01
  13. Wyatt Gleeson, 29, 1, 5, 1,090.41, $13,697.04
  14. Wacey Finkbeiner, 21, 0, 6, 907.50, $13,994.43
  15. Tanner Byrne, 9, 1, 2, 902.50, $9,252.93
  16. Koal Livingston, 9, 0, 5, 895.00, $12,810.09
  17. Jake Gardner, 28, 1, 4, 873.33, $12,963.78
  18. Thor Hoefer II, 18, 1, 3, 767.08, $10,923.12
  19. Logan Biever, 35, 0, 4, 737.49, $7,747.83
  20. Edgar Durazo, 16, 0, 3, 698.74, $7,281.86
  21. Todd Chotowetz, 10, 1, 4, 673.33, $17,790.48
  22. Garrett Green, 7, 2, 2, 568.33, $9,039.75
  23. Matt Triplett, 8, 0, 4, 549.16, $7,919.55
  24. Lachlan Slade, 16, 0, 5, 512.50, $6,827.48
  25. Austin Richardson, 6, 1, 1, 502.50, $6,416.48
  26. Justin Lloyd, 13, 0, 2, 395.00, $7,448.58
  27. Tim Lipsett, 24, 0, 4, 380.00, $5,462.78
  28. Juan Carlos Contreras, 13, 1, 1, 355.00, $4,606.45
  29. Chase Outlaw, 4, 1, 1, 320.00, $9,616.13
  30. Jordan Hansen, 8, 0, 2, 290.00, $18,102.35
  31. Justin Paton, 4, 1, 1, 275.00, $5,689.33
  32. Cody Casper, 20, 0, 1, 243.33, $4,522.90
  33. Cole Young, 23, 0, 1, 222.50, $3,055.75
  34. Cody Floyd, 14, 0, 2, 220.00, $2,173.07
  35. Jackson Scott, 9, 0, 1, 211.66, $2,203.20
  36. Stormy Wing, 4, 0, 1, 200.00, $11,757.80
  37. Lawson Nobbs, 6, 0, 1, 195.00, $2,119.05
  38. Andrew Alvidrez, 1, 0, 1, 195.00, $1,879.63
  39. Zac Peterson, 9, 0, 1, 192.50, $2,803.94
  40. Chase Thielen, 19, 0, 1, 175.00, $2,046.89
  41. Kache Moosman, 3, 0, 1, 165.41, $1,794.70
  42. Stetson Lawrence, 3, 0, 2, 160.00, $1,694.48
  43. Wyatt Covington, 5, 0, 2, 160.00, $2,741.25
  44. Klayton Lakevold, 27, 0, 1, 135.00, $1,197.44
  45. Cawl Braithwaite, 4, 0, 1, 115.00, $1,212.31