The WNBA’s most anticipated regular season didn’t fail to deliver the excitement. However, the real drama came with the commencement of the playoffs. As of today, the First Round of the playoff series stands concluded after two-game sweeps.

Joining the New York Liberty and the Las Vegas Aces are the Minnesota Lynx and the Connecticut Sun after they conquered Phoenix Mercury and Indiana Fever respectively. The stage is set for the next step of the playoff series. Now, only one of these four teams will be lifting this year’s championship title. Let’s take a look at what lies ahead in the playoffs.

The format for the semifinals is set to begin on September 29

Moving on, there now will be a break until the semifinals commence on Sunday with a split double-header in the afternoon and evening. The first semifinal game will be the highly anticipated last season’s Finals rematch between the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces. The two teams have faced each other 55 times in the past and the Aces have come out a winner in 32 of those. Will it be the No.1 team of 2024 so far or the 2-time defending champions looking for a three-peat? A thrilling result either way.

On the other hand, Minnesota and Connecticut will be pitted against each other in last season’s three-game First Round series that was won by the Sun. Things are expected to heat up on the floor as this is going to be a battle between the league’s top two defensive teams. They have a history of 54 games between them with the Mohegan tribe-owned team triumphing 32 times. They also bested the Lynx twice this campaign. But the latter has been a team to look out for this season, coming off with their best record, 30-10, since 2017.

As the current format suggests, the team will compete in a best-of-5 series in both semifinals and finals. The standard format follows a 2-2-1 format, with the higher seed hosting Games 1,2, and 5.

Schedule for the upcoming battle

The semifinals (best of five) will take on Sunday, September 29 in Game 1 where No. 4 Las Vegas Aces will be hosted by No. 1 New York Liberty, at 3 pm. The game will be televised on the ABC network. This will be followed by the second game where No. 3 Connecticut Sun will be hosted by No. 2 Minnesota Lynx, at 8:30 pm, televised on ESPN.

Game 2 will follow on October 1st, Tuesday.

Friday, October 4, in Game 3, No.2 Minnesota Lynx will take on No., 3 Connecticut Sun at 7:30 pm. No.1 New York Liberty will face No.4 Las Vegas Aces at 9:30 pm. Both the games wil be televised on ESPN2.

In case of an avoidance of a clean sweep, Liberty will play the Aces on their home court at Michelob ULTRA Arena and the Suns will host Lynx at Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday, October 6th for Game 4. 

If needed again, the top seeded teams take the game back home for one last step on October 8, Tuesday for Game 5. Both games will be televised on ESPN2.

The details for Finals await to learn the winners of the two groups.

Stay tuned for more such updates and join us for the exciting second episode of the “Dual Threat Show” as our host BG12 sits down with Georgia Bulldogs star and Mountain West All-Freshman Team Selection, Asia Avinger