The semifinals are underway in the 2025 WNBA playoffs, and there won’t be any second-round sweeps. On Tuesday, the Phoenix Mercury staged an epic comeback to stun the Minnesota Lynx in overtime and even their series 1-1. Later that night, the Las Vegas Aces also got their revenge against the Indiana Fever behind another outstanding performance by MVP A’ja Wilson. Games 3 and 4 of both series are set for Friday and Sunday.
The best-of-five semifinals began on Sunday, when the Indiana Fever continued their Cinderella run with a Game 1 victory over the Las Vegas Aces behind an outstanding performance by Kelsey Mitchell. Later in the afternoon, the Minnesota Lynx took the first game against the Phoenix Mercury after an intense and physical 40 minutes.
The first round saw multiple thrilling games, and three of the four series went to a decisive Game 3. The shorthanded Indiana Fever ousted the third-seeded Atlanta Dream in a significant upset, knocking the Dream out on their home floor. The Las Vegas Aces won a tight Game 3 over the Seattle Storm after seeing their 17-game winning streak get snapped in a Game 2 loss in the first round. The Phoenix Mercury knocked out the reigning champion New York Liberty, taking them down despite dropping the opening game of their series in overtime.
The top-seeded Lynx were the only team to pull off a two-game sweep in the first round, knocking out the Golden State Valkyries. Minnesota 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.
Why Caitlin Clark cannot play in WNBA playoffs as Fever move on to face Aces in semifinals
Jack Maloney
Below is a look at the matchups and the full schedule for the 2025 playoffs.
WNBA playoff bracket
Keytron Jordan, CBS Sports
Teams played a best-of-three series in the first round, will play 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 is 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).
Semifinals schedule, scores (best-of-five)
Sunday, Sept. 21
Tuesday, Sept. 23
Friday, Sept. 26
Sunday, Sept. 28
Tuesday, Sept. 30
- *Game 5: Aces vs. Fever, TBD
- *Game 5: Lynx vs. Mercury, TBD
WNBA 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
First-round scores (best-of-three)
All times Eastern
Sunday, Sept. 14
Tuesday, Sept. 16
Wednesday, Sept. 17
Thursday, Sept. 18
Friday, Sept. 19
