The thrilling 2024 WNBA regular season draws to a close as the league’s 12 teams battle it out for eight spots in the playoff pool.

The New York Liberty and Minnesota Lynx have proven to be the class of the WNBA this season, while the back-to-back champion Las Vegas Aces—led by top MVP candidate center A’ja Wilson—remain a major threat. Guard Caitlin Clark, the No. 1 pick in the 2024 draft, has the Indiana Fever playing their best basketball at the right time, while fellow rookie phenom Angel Reese and the Chicago Sky try to stay in the race.

The final games of the regular season are scheduled for September 19, with the playoffs starting three days later on September 23.

The first round of the playoffs begins on Sept. 22 with four best-of-three series among the eight teams in the field. Winners advance to the semifinals, a best-of-five series, and then to the 2024 WNBA Finals, another best-of-five series.

In the first round of the playoffs, the higher seed hosts the first two games of the series. If it goes to a deciding third game, the home-field advantage switches to the lower seed. In the final two rounds, the higher seed hosts games 1, 2, and 5, while the lower seed hosts games 3 and 4.

In 1997 and 1998, only four teams competed in the WNBA playoffs, with elimination games in 1997 and best-of-three series in 1998.

In 1999, the postseason expanded to six teams and in 2005 to eight teams. That year also saw the first best-of-five series in the WNBA Finals.

In 2016, the format changed again. The top two teams earned an automatic spot in the semifinals, while the third and fourth seeded teams started in the second round and the remaining four teams started in the first round. The first and second rounds were single elimination games, while the semifinals and finals were best-of-five series.

The WNBA changed the pool again in 2022 to its current format: eight teams with a best-of-three series in the first round and a best-of-five series in the semifinals and finals.

WNBA commissioner Cathy Engelbert explained in a 2022 statement why the league switched to a best-of-three series in the opening round.

“After extensive discussions with our competition committee and a playoff subcommittee we established in 2021, it was clear that the previous single-elimination format provided a close start to the postseason where everyone had to win and advance. However, the new best-of-three format provides additional opportunities to create and showcase rivalries, with all teams eligible for the playoffs participating,” Engelbert said.

The new best-of-three format in the first round reduces the chance of a surprise upset, but it increases the likelihood that the league’s top two teams will advance to the WNBA Finals.