2018 MEXICO CHAMPION FRANCISCO GARCIA TORRES HEADLINES NATIONAL STANDINGS QUALIFIERS FOR TEAM MEXICO AT 2019 PBR GLOBAL CUP USA

PUEBLO, Colo. – Ahead of PBR’s (Professional Bull Riders) 2019 WinStar World Casino and Resort Global Cup USA, three riders have qualified for Team Mexico via the country’s national standings, headlined by 2018 PBR Mexico Champion Francisco Garcia Torres (Sal, Mexico).

The PBR Global Cup, the only nation vs. nation bull riding competition, will make its U.S. debut, and third stop, at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas on February 9-10, 2019.  The new team tournament debuted in Edmonton, Alberta in November 2017 and then visited Sydney, Australia in June 2018.

Concluding the year ranked No. 3 and No. 4, respectively, in the PBR Mexico national standings, 2017 PBR Mexico Champion Francisco Morales (Irapuato, Guanajuato) and Luis Escobedo (Parras, Coahuila), also qualified for the nation’s contingent set to compete in the Lone Star State compliments of their stellar 2018 seasons competing at PBR events on home soil.

The trio of Torres, Morales and Escobedo join already announced teammates Juan Carlos Contreras (Huichapan, Hidalgo), Jorge Valdiviezo (La Misión, Baja California), Edgar Durazo (Moctezuma, Sonora)and Alvaro Aguilar Alvarez (La Punta, Jalisco) who were all chosen by Team Mexico Coach Gerardo Venegas (Juárez, Chihuahua).

One position remains to be filled on Team Mexico by Coach Venegas, set to be announced in early January.

In 2018, Torres recorded the best season of his more than four-year professional career.

Riding at eight events in Mexico during the year, Torres earned an event win in addition to five Top-5 finishes, going 7-for-13 (53.8%), leading him to his first PBR Mexico Championship. In the national standings, he concluded the year 72.5 points ahead of No. 2 Luis Blanco (Iacanga, São Paulo, Brazil).

Torres also competed stateside for the first time in 2018. He made his elite PBR Unleash The Beast debut in Greensboro, and then earned an invite to the 2018 Velocity Tour Finals courtesy of his national title.

Inside South Point Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Torres finished fifth in Round 1 after covering Mr. Valentine (Rickey West Bucking Bulls) for 86 points. At the end of the two-day finals for the PBR’s premier expansion series, Torres, who tied for twelfth, qualified to the 2018 PBR World Finals as the top finishing international invite. The qualification marked Torres’ debut at the most prestigious event in bull riding.

Torres also adds past Global Cup experience to the Team Mexico roster. Making his debut at the Sydney leg of the event, Torres recorded one of the nation’s six 8-second efforts, covering Domino Effect (Dunne Bucking Bulls) for 81.5 points.

A PBR veteran of more than 15 years, Morales also brings prior Global Cup experience to the nation’s contingent set to compete inside the home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys. He was a member of Team Mexico in both Edmonton and Sydney.

Morales’s 2018 PBR Mexico season was highlighted by four Top-5 finishes, which led him to finish No. 3 in the national standings, 382.5 points behind Torres.

He also rode at the first two events of the 2018 Unleash The Beast season in New York City and Chicago. Morales’ season concluded in Las Vegas at the Velocity Tour Finals.

Escobedo rounds out the slate of riders who qualified to the team via the national standings, set to join Team Mexico as their alternate. The 2019 PBR Global Cup will mark his debut at the five-nation bull riding spectacle.

Competing exclusively in Mexico in 2018, Escobedo earned an event win, along with two Top-5 and four Top-10 efforts, going a notable 5-for-7 (71.4%).

Tickets for the WinStar World Casino and Resort Global Cup USA are on sale now and start at just $10. They can be purchased at SeatGeek.com, PBR.com, or by calling PBRDirect at (800)732-1727.