LAS VEGAS – Jess Lockwood rolled his gear bag into the locker room at T-Mobile Arena and placed it down in a familiar spot.

Lockwood began to unpack his things for the 2019 PBR World Finals knowing that he is in the hunt at winning a second World Championship at the young age of 22 years old.

As he grabbed for his bull rope, Lockwood couldn’t help but think a little bit about celebrating his first World Championship in this exact spot.

“This is exciting,” Lockwood said before the start of Round 1. “You don’t really take it in as it is happening, but you kind of have to stop once in a while and think, ‘Wow, I am in a world title race. This is really happening.’

“It is a childhood dream. You have to soak it up.”

Lockwood did not plan to put his stuff in the same spot as two years ago. 2016 World Champion Cooper Davis unknowingly selected the location for them.

“I just like being next to certain people,” Lockwood said. “I like having it next to my buddies. Cooper (Davis), Derek (Kolbaba), Stetson (Lawrence). Wherever they go, I kind of go. Cooper just happened to choose that spot. This is where I was last year, too. I like keeping a routine in a way.”

Lockwood went 4-for-6 for a seventh-place finish at the 2018 World Finals, but he also knows he can’t live in the past if he wants future success.

“It is in the past,” he said. “I have bigger fish to fry right now than being a has been. I am trying to focus on the task at hand, and that is winning another one.”

Lockwood took care of business inside the arena on Wednesday night as he has done the past two seasons at T-Mobile Arena.

The 22-year-old began the 2019 World Finals with an 86.5-point ride on Silver Back.

The ride only placed him seventh in the round for 35 world points, but the effort keeps Lockwood on pace with world leader Jose Vitor Leme and No. 3 Chase Outlaw in the race for the World Finals event average title and World Championship.

Leme rode Skyfall for 88 points and a fifth-place finish (75 world points), while Outlaw finished tied for second with Dalton Kasel for 152.5 world points.

Lockwood now trails Leme by 789.16 points heading into Round 2 on Thursday night.

No. 5 Cooper Davis was officially eliminated from the world title race when Proctor’s Pride bucked him off in 5.10 seconds.

Fans can watch Round 2 live on CBS Sports Network at 10 p.m. ET and on RidePass at 9:40 p.m. ET.

Lockwood believes he has drawn the right bull for Round 2 in Spotted Demon (43-6, UTB) to contend for an important round victory.

The Volborg, Montana, bull rider is set to face Spotted Demon for the third time in his career, and he hopes the third time will be the charm. Spotted Demon bucked Lockwood off in 4.66 seconds two years ago during the Sacramento, California, 15/15 Bucking Battle after previously handling Lockwood in 4.67 seconds in San Jose, California.

“I am a whole different rider now,” Lockwood said. “I rode ones harder than him. I am excited because I am a different rider now and it is going to be cool being matched up against him and going at him differently.”

Spotted Demon is a former World Champion Bull contender that is 11 years old.

Lockwood believes Spotted Demon still has enough left in the tank to help him challenge for the round win.

“He is not the bull he was,” Lockwood said. “He is a little more rider-friendly now, but he still bucks hard. He doesn’t have as much head-slinging or whip as he used to, but he still does the job good enough to get you a round win.”

Stock contractor Julio Moreno said he is not sure if Spotted Demon will return to competition in 2020, but he agreed with Lockwood that his bull could still power the 2017 World Champion to an important round victory.

“Jess has everything going for him right now,” Moreno said. “I think 95 to 95.5 points, I hope. Here in the big lights in Las Vegas. Last year, he was good, and hopefully he does it again.”

2018 World Finals event winner Marco Eguchi rode Spotted Demon for 94 points in Round 2, getting knocked out in the process. Matt Triplett later made the 8-second mark on Spotted Demon for 87.5 points in the championship round.

Spotted Demon is 4-0 on the Unleash The Beast in 2018. He bucked off Ezekiel Mitchell (6.27 seconds) in his last out this past September in Anaheim, California.

The veteran bovine athlete also bucked on the rodeo trail this summer and at a few Touring Pro Division events.

Rookie of the Year leader Dalton Kasel began his march to stardom by riding Spotted Demon for 93 points in Santa Maria, California.

Moreno believes this may just be Spotted Demon’s last World Finals, but he is still not sure.

“It depends if he wants to load up in the trailer or not,” Moreno said. “We will do it then. I am not going to bet on that. He would be 12. I don’t know. Tom Brady is still doing it.”

Follow Justin Felisko on Twitter @jfelisko