Dakota Buttar Dominates Second Night of Competition for the 2020 PBR Canada Monster Energy Tour Finals Week to Inch Closer to Career-First National Championship

GRANDE PRAIRIE, Alberta – On the penultimate day of competition for the 2020 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Canada season in Grande Prairie, Alberta, Dakota Buttar (Kindersley, Saskatchewan) delivered a flawless performance in the second event of the Canadian Monster Energy Tour Finals Week, victorious at the PBR Wrangler Chute Out, to inch closer to his career-first national championship.

Celebrating his birthday amidst the fierce competition, the Saskatchewan man began the event on a high note, topping Round 1 with an 86.5-point effort aboard Stay Black (X6 Ranch Bucking Cattle).

Holding the top pick in the championship round bull draft, Buttar architected a rematch with 2020 PBR Canada Bull of the Year contender Stuntman Hank (Wild Hoggs Bucking Bulls). Previously meeting in July 2019 during the Touring Pro Division event in Lloydminster, Saskatchewan, Buttar was bested by the bovine athlete, sent to the dirt in 4.28 seconds.

Avenging the bitter buckoff, a seemingly unstoppable Buttar conquered Stuntman Hank inside Revolution Place, marked 87 points.

Buttar has now won three of the five Monster Energy Tour stops held in 2020, and five of the 10 events held across all levels of competition on Canadian soil.

Seeking his career-first PBR Canada Championship, Buttar’s latest victory earned him $2,625, in addition to 77 Canadian and 15 world points. Furthering his stronghold on the nation’s No. 1 ranking, he now leads No. 2 Zane Lambert (Ponoka, Alberta) by 165.17 points with just two bulls remaining before the 2020 PBR Canada Champion will be crowned and presented the accompanying $20,000 bonus on Saturday evening.

On the heels of his event victory Thursday night, two-time PBR Canada Champion Lambert was second at the PBR Wrangler Chute Out, collecting a cheque for $1,762.50, along with a critical 58.5 Canadian and 8 world points.

Lambert, the lone rider to qualify for all 15 iterations of the PBR Canada Finals, continued his quest for what would be his record-tying third national championship in Round 1 when he made the 8 aboard Smash (Skori Bucking Bulls) for 82.5 points.

The qualified ride, which led the socially-distanced Grande Prairie crowd to erupt in raucous cheer, was the third of the Alberta man’s career aboard the Skori Bucking Bulls’ bovine athlete in as many attempts.

In the championship round, the poised veteran drafted Midnight Flyer (Braithwaite Ranches), a decision which proved dividends. Remaining collected under pressure, Lambert covered the bull in near picture perfect form, reaching the requisite 8 en route to an event-best, 88-point score.

Compliments of the high marks, as part of the Shell Rotella Rugged Ride for Charity initiative, a $1,500 donation will be made to the Ty Pozzobon Foundation in recognition of Lambert’s head-turning score.

The 34-year-old’s seventh Top-5 finish of the season allowed him to gain critical ground in the national title race, elevating him from No. 4 to No. 2.

Third was three-time PBR Canada Champion Aaron Roy (Yellow Grass, Saskatchewan).

Roy, the only Canadian rider in league history to eclipse $1 million in career earnings, reached the bronze finish compliments of an 82.5-point ride on Last Rights (Vold Rodeo) in Round 1, and 83-point trip atop Gandy (Skori Bucking Bulls) in the championship round.

Courtesy of his flawless finish, Roy netted $1,012.50, along with 42.5 Canadian and 7 world points. He is now ranked No. 6 in Canada, climbing three spots from No. 9, 268 points behind No. 1 Buttar.

As the only other rider to cover both of his draws Friday evening, young gun Tanner Eno (Coronation, Alberta) was fourth.

In Round 1, the 22-year-old covered Red Jam (Vold Rodeo) for 83.5 points to punch his ticket to the final round.

In a decision which proved fruitful, after riding Split Ends (Skori Bucking Bulls) for 76.5 points in the championship round, Eno declined a re-ride, allowing him to catapult up the event leaderboard.

Tying for his career-best finish, Eno left Revolution Place $750 richer, having also collected 32 Canadian and 4 world points. The rookie rider is now No. 10 in the nation, up three spots from No. 13, and within 307 points of the top spot.

Rounding out the Top 5 in fifth was Shay Marks (Sunnybrook, Alberta), with his efforts headlined by an 85.5-point score on Duck Soup (Vold Rodeo) in Round 1.

Marks’ 1-for-2 effort earned him $652.50, 22 Canadian and 3 world points. He surged from No. 24 to No. 17 in the national standings, now within 57.5 points of the Top 10.

In the bull pen, the final three competitors in the 2020 PBR Canada Bull of the Year race logged their first of two outs at the PBR Canada Monster Energy Tour Finals week.

Bucking off Marks in 5.01 seconds in the final round, Spooky Lukie (Two Bit Bucking Bulls) delivered the best out of the trio, marked 43.5 points. As a result, the bovine athlete climbed from No. 7 to No. 5 in the standings, now within 0.75 points of the top spot.

Catch My Drift (Two Bit Bucking Bulls/K Rose Ranch) remains atop the leaderboard, followed by Happy Camper (Two Bit Bucking Bulls) and Timber Jam (Vold Rodeo) who are tied for No. 2 and 0.165 points back.

For 2018 PBR Canada Bull of the Year Happy Camper, he is seeking history. Should the bull, regarded as the “Bucking Sensation from the Two Bit Nation,” overcome the points disparity on Saturday evening, he would become the first two-time PBR Canada Bull of the Year in league history.

Overall, Trapped (Vold Rodeo) was the high-marked bull of the event.

Dispatching Jordan Hansen (Okotoks, Alberta) in 6.68 seconds in the championship round, Trapped was marked an impressive 44 points.

Fans can tune in to a one-hour recap show from the PBR Wrangler Chute Out on Tuesday, November 17 at 5:00 p.m. MT on TSN2, or relive all the action on RidePass starting at 8:00 a.m. ET on Saturday, November 7 at RidePass.com or via the RidePass app available on iOS, Android and Roku.

The 2020 PBR Canada Monster Energy Tour Finals Week concludes on Saturday, November 7 with the PBR Cooper Tires Classic and PBR Built Ford Tough Championship.

The evening’s events will begin with 25-rider PBR Cooper Tires Classic at 7:00 p.m. MT.

Featuring one round, the event winner will be the high-marked rider of the event. Following, the Top 15 riders in the national standings will advance to the final event of the 2020 season, the PBR Built Ford Tough Championship. In the season-culminating event, the 15 qualifying riders will face one final bull in an effort to be crowned the 2020 PBR Canada Champion and earn the accompanying $20,000 bonus.

Fans can catch all the action LIVE on RidePass.

2020 PBR Canada Monster Energy Tour Finals Week – PBR Wrangler Chute Out
Revolution Place – Grande Prairie, Alberta
Event Leaders (Round 1- Round 2-Event Aggregate-Canadian Points)
1. Dakota Buttar, 86.5-87-173.50-77 Points.
2. Zane Lambert, 82.5-88-170.50-58.5 Points.
3. Aaron Roy, 82.5-83-165.50-42.5 Points.
4. Tanner Eno, 83.5-76.5-160.00-32 Points.
5. Shay Marks, 85.5-0-85.50-22 Points.
6. Jordan Hansen, 85-0-85.00-14 Points.
7. Logan Biever, 82-0-82.00-6 Points.
8. Lonnie West, 81-0-81.00-4 Points.
9. Callum Miller, 76.5-0-76.50-2 Points.
Brock Radford, 0-0-0.00
Garrett Green, 0-0-0.00
Jared Parsonage, 0-0-0.00
Jake Gardner, 0-0-0.00
Nick Tetz, 0-0-0.00
Tim Lipsett, 0-0-0.00
Dayton Johnston, 0-0-0.00
Fabian Dueck, 0-0-0.00
Micheal Ostashek, 0-0-0.00
Riley Gagnon, 0-0-0.00
Todd Chotowetz, 0-0-0.00
Coy Robbins, 0-0-0.00
Wyatt Gleeson, 0-0-0.00
Wade Marshall, 0-0-0.00
Zachery King, 0-0-0.00
Tyler Craig, 0-0-0.00

2020 PBR Canada National Standings
(Place, Rider, Events, Wins, Top 5's, Points, Total Winnings)
1. Dakota Buttar, 13, 5, 9, 396.50, $26,182.07
2. Zane Lambert, 11, 1, 7, 231.33, $10,972.76
3. Garrett Green, 9, 2, 3, 182.50, $11,238.98
4. Brock Radford, 13, 2, 5, 178.00, $14,569.85
5. Jared Parsonage, 12, 0, 6, 149.50, $10,065.43
6. Aaron Roy, 11, 0, 3, 128.50, $4,413.86
7. Logan Biever, 10, 1, 3, 103.00, $7,240.55
8. Ty Ellis, 6, 1, 2, 96.50, $3,804.60
9. Lonnie West, 8, 1, 3, 91.50, $4,286.47
10. Tanner Eno, 9, 0, 3, 89.50, $2,800.50
11. Callum Miller, 5, 1, 1, 78.00, $2,619.28
12. Jake Gardner, 10, 0, 4, 69.83, $3,994.67
13. Nick Tetz, 9, 0, 2, 69.50, $3,507.36
14. Tim Lipsett, 8, 0, 2, 52.50, $2,211.98
15. Dayton Johnston, 7, 0, 2, 50.33, $2,279.40
16. Jordan Hansen, 7, 1, 1, 39.00, $2,953.13
17. Shay Marks, 12, 0, 2, 32.00, $1,849.58
18. Thor Hoefer II, 5, 0, 1, 20.00, $2,868.75
19. Dalton Rudman, 2, 0, 0, 18.50, $1,261.40
20. Jackson Scott, 6, 0, 0, 16.50, $550.38
21. Todd Chotowetz, 9, 0, 0, 15.00, $741.20
22. Dakota Louis, 3, 0, 1, 14.50, $1,875.31
23. Micheal Ostashek, 8, 0, 0, 14.00, $584.21
24. Zachary Laney, 2, 0, 0, 10.50, $463.25
25. Cody Casper, 2, 0, 1, 10.00, $1,275.00
26. Rosendo Ramirez, 1, 0, 0, 9.00, $370.60
27. Chad Hartman, 4, 0, 0, 8.50, $235.88
28. Fabian Dueck, 8, 0, 1, 7.00, $530.40
28. Wacey Finkbeiner, 5, 0, 0, 7.00, $775.63
30. Kache Moosman, 1, 0, 0, 5.00, $0.00
30. Koby Kile, 3, 0, 1, 5.00, $655.21
32. Wyatt Gleeson, 10, 0, 0, 4.50, $0.00
33. Austin Richardson, 2, 0, 0, 3.00, $0.00
34. Coy Robbins, 4, 0, 0, 2.00, $0.00
34. Riley Gagnon, 7, 0, 0, 2.00, $166.60
36. Cole Young, 5, 0, 0, 1.00, $223.13
36. Nick Goncalves, 1, 0, 0, 1.00, $0.00
36. Tyler Craig, 3, 0, 0, 1.00, $133.88
39. Marcos Gloria, 3, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
39. Lane Mellers, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
39. Weston Hartman, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
39. Italo Aguilar Goncalves, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
39. Cody Hudson, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
39. Wade Marshall, 6, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
39. Isaac Mack, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
39. Cawl Braithwaite, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
39. Griffin Smeltzer, 3, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
39. Lane Paley, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $148.75
39. Zachery King, 7, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
39. Wyatt Covington, 3, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
39. Ashton Sahli, 3, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
39. Cameron Brown, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
39. Jayde Murphy, 2, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
39. Desmond Lambert, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
39. Chris Young, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
39. Tehiko Neill, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
39. Austin Allred, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00
39. Cole Harris, 1, 0, 0, 0.00, $0.00