OKEECHOBEE- Cole Melancon, from Paris, Texas,  came out on top after the first round of competion at the first-ever Professional Bull Riders (PBR) Unleash The Beast event in Okeechobee at the Okeechobee Agri-Civic Center on Jan. 30.

Melancon shot to the top of the leaderboard compliments of an 88.5-point score atop the bull "Soup in a Group." Along with collecting 20 world points for his round victory, the 26-year-old also earned eight bonus points for the qualified ride.

Remaining number five in the world, Melancon is now within 30.5 points of  first place Junior Patrik Souza  of Brazil.

Souza retained his world number one rank after finishing tenth in round one when he covered the bull "Sky Harbor"  for a 78.5-point score. He earned nine world points. 

PBR’s premiere series is making its first ever stop in Okeechobee due in part to an effort by the organization to visit some of the most quintessential venues in the nation.

“We set out in the first part of the year to tour and visit iconic rodeo venues across the country,” said PBR Chief Marketing Officer Kosha Irby, “So we started in Ocala and made our way to Arcadia. Now we’re coming to Okeechobee. After we leave here we’ll start hitting those iconic rodeo venues in Texas and Arizona. We wanted to go back to our roots. We’re proud of the opportunity we’re creating to give people in Okeechobee the best bull riding they’re ever going to see.”

Fans can relive all the action from round one of the PBR Coors Banquet Invitational from Okeechobee at 8 a.m.  on Saturday, Jan. 31 on RidePass at RidePass.com or via the RidePass mobile app. CBS Sports Network will also air coverage of the opening round starting at 10:30 a.m. on Sunday, Jan. 31.

The PBR Unleash The Beast: American Roots Edition’s Coors Banquet Invitational will conclude in Okeechobee on Sunday, Jan. 31 at 2 p.m.  with round two followed by the championship round.