The first round of the 2025 WNBA playoffs continued on Wednesday night, as the Phoenix Mercury staved off elimination with a convincing 86-60 road win over the New York Liberty to force a Game 3 on Friday. Meanwhile, the Golden State Valkyries fought valiantly in an attempt to secure their first playoff win in franchise history, but they ultimately fell short against the top-seeded Minnesota Lynx, losing 75-74. Golden State’s historic season comes to an end, while the Lynx advance to the semifinals, where they await the winner of Friday’s Game 3 showdown between the Mercury and Liberty.
The Seattle Storm and Indiana Fever kept their seasons alive with Game 2 home wins on Tuesday night. The Storm snapped the Las Vegas Aces’ 17-game winning streak with a comeback victory. The seventh-seeded Storm used a strong fourth quarter to force a decisive Game 3, getting a combined 50 points from Skylar Diggins and Nneka Ogwumike.
The Fever, meanwhile, staved off elimination against the Atlanta Dream. The Fever won at home to keep their injury-plagued season going, forcing a decisive Game 3 back in Atlanta on Thursday night.
The best-of-three first round will wrap up on Friday or earlier, and the best-of-five semifinals will begin on Sunday (Sept. 21).
The 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.
Below is a look at the first-round matchups and the full schedule for the 2025 playoffs.
WNBA playoff bracket
Keytron Jordan, CBS Sports
Here are the four first-round matchups and seeding:
- No. 1 Lynx vs. No. 8 Valkyries (Minnesota wins, 2-0)
- No. 2 Aces vs. No. 7 Storm (Series tied, 1-1)
- No. 3 Dream vs. No. 6 Fever (Series tied, 1-1)
- No. 4 Mercury vs. No. 5 Liberty (Series tied, 1-1)
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 lower seed hosts Game 2.
All games on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 are streaming on fubo (Try for free).
First-round schedule, scores (best-of-three)
All times Eastern
Sunday, Sept. 14
Tuesday, Sept. 16
Wednesday, Sept. 17
Thursday, Sept. 18
- Game 3: No. 6 Fever at No. 3 Dream, 7:30 p.m. — ESPN2/fubo
- Game 3: No. 7 Storm at No. 2 Aces, 9:30 p.m. — ESPN2/fubo
Friday, Sept. 19
- Game 3: No. 5 Liberty at No. 4 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
