Last Sunday, Joao Ricardo Viera lived up to his nickname.

The big-event cowboy won the Monster Energy Buck Off At The Garden to secure the World No. 1 spot in the 2020 PBR (Professional Bull Riders) Unleash The Beast series.

Joao has been dubbed Mr. Majors for his uncanny ability to win the PBR season’s four tent-pole events which award more money and points to the winner. When the pressure and big lights are on, the Brazilian with the big smile digs deeper and more often than not finds himself on top of the Can-Am cage hoisting a six-figure check and buckle in the air.

This time in New York, he also held up the new Charging Bull Trophy and will be the first to have his name etched on the cool new hardware.

Viera won the Iron Cowboy event three-times and last season pocketed close to $1 million. With the $100,000-plus he pocketed after three days of work inside the world’s most famous arena, he is off to a good start to earn that much or more this year.

You can view the winning ride below:

The short break after the 2019 PBR World Finals inside T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas helped Joao prepare for the 2020 season and go a perfect 3-for-3 inside Madison Square Garden.

This weekend in Chicago Mr. Majors will be looking to repeat his success in New York. That’s a tall ask for any of the world’s best bull riders to complete. It can be done, though. Witness Jess Lockwood, the youngest two-time PBR World Champion, who last year won New York and the following week took the event at All-State Arena.

As Joao did show last season, he has improved in riding bulls that go away from his hand – buck away from his riding hand – which is an improvement since it once was his kryptonite. If he can continue to improve on this riding, he may be able to pull off some impressive rides and win back-to-back events this weekend.

Round one has Joao paired with Hot Time (6-1). Riding the momentum from giant New York win into Chicago, this should be a great matchup to watch. The bull appears to have the edge; currently, there is only only one qualified ride in the bull’s seven outs on the premier series. But, a confident Viera should be able to handle what the bull throws at him and add another ride to the bull’s stats.

This will be a key matchup to watch to see if Joao can stay perfect in his outs. This round will be must-watch not only for the outcome of this matchup but to see who comes out of the round a winner.

Fans can catch all of the exciting action as it happens Saturday, January 11 starting at 7:45 PM ET on the PBR digital network RidePass.

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