The first day of the WNBA playoffs didn’t see any real upsets, but it was certainly not uneventful. The Minnesota Lynx and Atlanta Dream took 1-0 leads in their respective series with decisive victories at the start of Sunday’s quadruple-header. Then we got our first overtime of this postseason as the New York Liberty pulled off a win over the Phoenix Mercury, and later in the evening the Las Vegas Aces put on a defensive clinic against the Seattle Storm.
The action will resume on Tuesday with the first batch of Game 2s.
The Minnesota Lynx entered the playoffs as the No. 1 seed after being the WNBA’s most dominant team throughout the 44-game regular season. The Lynx, looking for the fifth championship in team history and their first since 2017, will have home-court advantage throughout the playoffs.
The New York Liberty, the reigning champs, will have no such luxury as injuries and inconsistency led them to the No. 5 seed in the bracket. They are facing the Phoenix Mercury in the first round, who won’t be an easy opponent as Alyssa Thomas fights to extend her outstanding season.
Meanwhile, the Las Vegas Aces were not playing like a championship contender early on, but A’ja Wilson made a strong push for her fourth MVP award by leading her team to a 16-game winning streak to close out the regular season with the No. 2 seed. Becky Hammon’s group is chasing its third championship in four years.
The Atlanta Dream have also exceeded expectations with successful offseason moves that included the addition of star veteran players Brionna Jones and Brittney Griner. As for the Indiana Fever, they reached the playoffs last year for the first time since 2016 and are back again despite multiple injuries to key players — including 2024 Rookie of the Year Caitlin Clark, who only appeared in 13 games in 2025 before announcing her season was over earlier this month.
Below is a look at the first-round matchups and the full schedule for the 2025 playoffs.
WNBA playoff bracket
Keytron Jordan, CBS Sports
The full playoff bracket was set after the action on Thursday. Here are the four first-round matchups:
- No. 1 Lynx vs. No. 8 Valkyries
- No. 2 Aces vs. No. 7 Storm
- No. 3 Dream vs. No. 6 Fever
- No. 4 Mercury vs. No. 5 Liberty
Teams will play a best-of-three series in the first round, a best-of-five series in the semifinals, and — in a new change this year — a best-of-seven affair in the Finals.
In 2024, the first round had a 2-1 format, which meant the higher seed got the first two games at home, while the lower seed only got to host if they made it to Game 3. This year it will be a 1-1-1 format, with Games 1 and 3 hosted by the higher seed while the opponent hosts Game 2.
First-round schedule, scores (best-of-three)
All times Eastern
Sunday, Sept. 14
Tuesday, Sept. 16
- Game 2: No. 3 Dream at No. 6 Fever, 7:30 p.m. — ESPN/fubo
- Game 2: No. 2 Aces at No. 7 Storm, 9:30 p.m. — ESPN/fubo
Wednesday, Sept. 17
- Game 2: No. 4 Mercury at No. 5 Liberty, 7:30 p.m. — ESPN/fubo
- Game 2: No. 2 Lynx at No. 7 Valkyries, 9:30 p.m. — ESPN/fubo
Thursday, Sept. 18
- *Game 3: No. 6 Fever at No. 3 Dream, TBD — ESPN2/fubo
- *Game 3: No. 7 Storm at No. 2 Aces, TBD — ESPN2/fubo
Friday, Sept. 19
- *Game 3: No. 7 Valkyries at No. 2 Lynx, TBD — ESPN2/fubo
- *Game 3: No. 4 Liberty at No. 5 Mercury, TBD — ESPN2/fubo
Semifinals schedule (best-of-five)
Sunday, Sept. 21
Tuesday, Sept. 23
Friday, Sept. 26
Sunday, Sept. 28
Tuesday, Sept. 30
- *Game 5: TBD vs. TBD, TBD
- *Game 5: TBD vs. TBD, TBD
Finals schedule (best-of-seven)
Friday, Oct. 3
- Game 1, 8 p.m. — ESPN/fubo
Sunday, Oct. 5
- Game 2, 3 p.m. — ABC/fubo
Wednesday, Oct. 8
- Game 3, 8 p.m. — ESPN/fubo
Friday, Oct. 10
- Game 4, 8 p.m. — ESPN/fubo
Sunday, Oct. 12
- *Game 5, 3 p.m. — ABC/fubo
Wednesday, Oct. 15
- *Game 6, 8 p.m. — ESPN/fubo
Friday, Oct. 17
- *Game 7, 8 p.m. — ESPN/fubo
* If necessary
