An international showdown between 2008 world champion Guilherme Marchi and 2016 PBR Australia champion Cody Heffernan featured a bonus bull match Tuesday night at the Real Time Pain Relief Velocity Tour event in Denver, Colorado, at the National Western Stock Show and Rodeo.

Cody Heffernan from Singleton, New South Wales, Australia, was invited to ride in the bonus bull match after he had the high-marked ride in Tuesday night's competition. He rode Selman & Terrell, LLC's Rock Bottom for 86.5 points.

Heffernan won the bonus bull match when he rode Freckled Fire for 86 points, as Marchi rode Slider for 84 points. The win made Hefferman $5,000 richer.  

"I won the (Australian) title last year then came back here in August, and I just couldn't ride a gate on a windy day," Heffernan said in a statement to the PBR. "I went back home after World Finals and really dedicated myself to the sport, working on things and trying to get that consistency."

Kaique Pacheco's score from the first performance of the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Denver Chute Out on Monday stayed at the top of the leaderboard through another 45 riders on Tuesday.

Pacheco from Itatiba, Sao Paulo, Brazil, rode Flying S Bucking Bull's Insane Hurricane for 87.5 points to win the first round of the National Western's bull riding. Pacheco got a check for $2,853 and stands to win even more. The Denver Chute Out is part of the PBR's Real Time Pain Relief Velocity Tour.

There were 31 bull riders that had scores in the first round of competition. They will all compete again on Wednesday night in a semifinals round. Their scores from both rounds will be added together with the best 15 getting to ride for the championship.

Professional Bull Riders Velocity Tour Event Results:
Jan. 9 (Denver, CO)
Results (Round 1)

1. ​Kaique Pacheco, 87.5 points
2. Brennon Eldred, 87 points
3. Jake Gowdy, 86.5 points
4. Cody Heffernan, 86.5 points
5. Dener Barbosa, 86 points &  Zane Lambert 86 points

For full results, visit PBR.com.

Along with the world standings points, the winner will earn an exemption to the Frontier Communications Iron Cowboy in Arlington, Texas, on Feb. 18, when $100,000 will be on the line.

Wednesday night will feature Heffernan, Marchi, Pacheco, 2004 world champion Mike Lee, Neil Holmes and Fabiano Vieira.

Wednesday night's competition starts at 7 PM in the Denver Coliseum.

-Information provided courtesy of Susan Kanode and PBR 

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