The WNBA playoffs are here after a historic regular-season full of record-breaking performances and retirement tours for a couple of League legends. The playoff race came down to the final day of the season as the Liberty and Mercury clinched the final two postseason berths.
Final day of WNBA regular season and there’s 2 spots left in the playoffs.
— WSLAM (@wslam) August 14, 2022
Who locks it in? ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/V7vs2hSp4X
The Las Vegas Aces were able to hold on to the No. 1 overall seed and home-court advantage after beating the Storm, 109-100 on Sunday. They will take on the Phoenix Mercury in the first round. The defending champion Chicago Sky is the No. 2 seed and will face the Liberty to open the playoffs on Wednesday.
Eight teams advanced to the first round, and for the first since 2015, each series will be played at a best-of-three series to determine the semifinalists. For the last six seasons, the top two seeds automatically received byes into the second and second round and single-elimination games determined the first two rounds of the postseason. In the new 2-1 format, the higher seed hosts the first two games of the first round.
The semifinals and WNBA Finals remain best-of-five series that follow a 2-2-1 format wherein the higher seeds host 1,2 and 5 while the lower seeds will host Games 3 and 4.
Below are the playoff matchups:
Aces vs. Mercury:
Game 1: Phoenix at Las Vegas, Wednesday, Aug. 17 (10 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Game 2: Phoenix at Las Vegas, Saturday, Aug. 20 (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
Game 3*: Las Vegas at Phoenix, Tuesday, Aug. 23 (TBD)
Sky vs. Liberty:
Game 1: New York at Chicago, Wednesday, Aug. 17 (8 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
Game 2: New York at Chicago, Saturday, Aug. 20 (Noon ET, ESPN)
Game 3*: Chicago at New York, Tuesday, Aug. 23 (TBD)
Sun vs. Wings:
Game 1: Dallas at Connecticut, Thursday, Aug. 18 (8 p.m. ET, ESPNU/NBA TV)
Game 2: Dallas at Connecticut, Sunday, Aug. 21 (noon ET, ABC)
Game 3*: Connecticut at Dallas, Wednesday, Aug. 24 (TBD)
Storm vs. Mystics:
Game 1: Washington at Seattle, Thursday, Aug. 18 (10 p.m. ET, ESPN2)
Game 2: Washington at Seattle, Sunday, Aug. 21 (4 p.m. ET, ESPN)
Game 3*: Seattle at Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 24 (TBD)
* If necessary
