Going towards its culmination, the WNBA is only getting more exciting by the day. The fans, along with the players, are gearing up for the elimination series that is scheduled to start this weekend. The games will see the top 8 WNBA teams battle out against each other in the first round of playoffs, four of which advance to the semi-finals. This WNBA postseason is going to be quite interesting filled with multiple storylines, from Caitlin Clark’s emergence to A’ja Wilson’s MVP-esque displays.

And nothing better than to catch them to see which teams have pulled up their socks and which are still undecided on their next strategies. But before that, let’s understand how the first round of the playoffs works. These are a 3-game knockout rounds with the higher-seeded team getting a home advantage for the first two games. The third game, if required, will be hosted by the lower-seeded team. The winner of the series will then move to the semifinals, a 5-game round. But let’s first focus on round 1.

Game 1 for all teams: Setting up the tone

The first matchup on Sunday in the 1st round will be between the Atlanta Dream and the New York Liberty. The Dream have just made it in time after their contenders the Chicago Sky faltered in their game against the Connecticut Sun on Thursday. Hence, it will be important to see if the Dream will be able to take full advantage of what destiny has presented them with. They will be at loggerheads against the New York Liberty and the game could be watched on ESPN, starting at 1 PM. However, this will not be the only matchup on Sunday.

The remaining games between the Indiana Fever and the Connecticut Sun, the Phoenix Mercury and the Minnesota Lynx, and the Seattle Storm against the Las Vegas Aces will also attract a huge crowd. While the Fever will take the court at 3 pm, the Mercury will be up for the Herculean task just two hours later. Meanwhile, the Storm’s games will begin at 10 PM. All these games can be seen live on the ESPN network.

Games 2 and 3: The deciding events

The second game in the best-of-three series will take place on upcoming Tuesday and Wednesday. A repeat of the Game 1, the Dream will square off against the Liberty at 7:30 PM whereas the Storm will clash with the Aces on Tuesday at 9:30 PM. Both the games can be seen on the ESPN network. And then Wednesday will bring with itself new contests that will surely make fans happy.

The Indiana Fever has qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2016. The Fever, with the help of Clark, saw a late resurgence, after the Olympics break, and since then have become a difficult team to tackle. It will be interesting to see if the Fever will be able to continue their on-song performance and make the best use of their chemistry. In game 2, the Fever will also again tackle the Sun at 7:30 PM whereas the Mercury will clash against the Minnesota at 9:30 PM. Both the games can be watched on ESPN.

The schedule will extend into Thursday and Friday if there isn’t a clear winner after game 2 of the series. The Liberty and the Aces will take the court against the Dream and the Storm during Game 3 on Thursday, the timings of which haven’t been decided yet. Similarly, Connecticut will brush shoulders with Indiana, as the Lynx will battle it out against the Mercury. All Game 3s will be available on the ESPN 2 network.

Although the chances of extending to Game 3 are slim, most probably the clashes between the Fever and the Sun, and the Aces and the Storm can reach the do-or-die game. On the fans’ part, they will be looking forward to watching all the games and cheering for their favorite teams. So pick up your popcorn and get ready for a huge ‘Welcome to the W!’