The 2026 postseason opens today with all four first-round series tipping off Game 1 on the same day — Liberty at Lynx (2:00 PM ET, ABC), Fever at Aces (4:00 PM ET, ABC), Mystics at Dream (7:00 PM ET, Prime Video), and Wings at Valkyries (9:00 PM ET, USA Network). The format is best-of-three (1-1-1), with the higher seed hosting Games 1 and 3, if necessary. Rather than leaning on today's four games individually, here's how we see each series playing out start to finish. Our separate preview for tonight has the game-by-game leans, with a reference back to these series calls.

Washington Mystics vs. Atlanta Dream | Best-of-3 | Game 1 today, 7:00 PM ET, Prime Video

Atlanta locked up the No. 4 seed weeks ago and enters the postseason as the league's hottest team, with Angel Reese and Rhyne Howard leading a Dream squad that's won nine of its last 10. Washington claimed the No. 5 seed on the final night of the season, clinching the tiebreaker over Indiana by virtue of its 2-1 season series win.

Washington is 28-16 with Kiki Iriafen and Sonia Citron both fresh off Team USA gold, giving the Mystics real frontcourt punch against an Atlanta team that's been nearly unbeatable of late.

Atlanta enters red-hot, having won its final five games while averaging 95.2 points, and ranks inside the top five leaguewide in both offensive and defensive rating — a rare two-way combination. Washington's defense (82.5 points allowed a game, second-best in the league) gives it a path to stay competitive, but the Mystics' offense ranked 12th and will need to steal at least one game to make this a series.

Washington wins the series if Iriafen and Citron's playoff experience from this summer translates immediately and the Mystics steal a game to flip home-court advantage.

Atlanta wins the series if Reese and Howard carry the momentum from the regular season's five-game closing kick straight into the postseason.

Indiana Fever vs. Las Vegas Aces | Best-of-3 | Game 1 today, 4:00 PM ET, ABC

Las Vegas is 31-13 and enters as the defending champion, with A'ja Wilson putting up an MVP-caliber season and the Aces looking every bit like a team capable of repeating. Indiana closed the regular season on a sour note, blown out by Minnesota in the finale once its seeding was already settled.

Indiana is 28-16 and brings a real card to play: the Fever won the regular-season series against Las Vegas 2-1, giving Caitlin Clark and Kelsey Mitchell's high-powered offense a track record of success against this specific opponent.

Las Vegas enters on a seven-game winning streak with A'ja Wilson averaging a league-leading 26.0 points, and DraftKings has the Aces as -170 series favorites. Indiana counters with the league's best offense — Clark (22.8 points, 8.5 assists) and Mitchell (25.0 points) form as dangerous a backcourt as anyone — but a defense allowing 90-plus points a game is a real liability here. Indiana did win this year's regular-season series 2-1, the case against a sweep.

Las Vegas wins the series if Wilson's two-way dominance and playoff pedigree take over across the series.

Indiana wins the series if Clark and Mitchell's offense does what it did twice already this season and the Fever find the defensive stops to back it up.

New York Liberty vs. Minnesota Lynx | Best-of-3 | Game 1 today, 2:00 PM ET, ABC

This is a rematch of the 2024 WNBA Finals, which New York won in five games. Minnesota enters at 33-11 and the No. 1 overall seed, but the Lynx limped to the finish, losing four of five before a blowout win over Indiana in a season finale with nothing at stake for the opponent.

New York is 26-18 and clinched the No. 8 seed on the regular season's final night, but the Liberty won the season series against Minnesota 2-1, including a 93-81 road win at Target Center just over a week ago. Breanna Stewart and Sabrina Ionescu have had this team's number lately.

This is a rematch of the 2024 Finals, and New York has the recent edge, having won the regular-season series 2-1, including a road win at Target Center. But Minnesota's case is straightforward: the league's best record, a top-five defense, and a resurgent Napheesa Collier (17.5 points a game since returning from injury) pairing with rookie Olivia Miles (19.8 points, 6.0 assists). DraftKings' exact-games market has this one going the full three.

New York wins the series if Stewart and Ionescu continue the recent run of success against Minnesota and steal home-court advantage.

Minnesota wins the series if Collier and Miles's two-way punch overwhelms a Liberty team that's beaten them twice, but not enough times to prove it can do it again.

Dallas Wings vs. Golden State Valkyries | Best-of-3 | Game 1 today, 9:00 PM ET, USA Network

Golden State is 31-12 and clinched the No. 2 seed on the final night of the season, riding the league's stingiest defense through the stretch run. This is the Valkyries' second postseason appearance in franchise history.

Dallas is 27-17 and back in the playoffs for the first time since 2023, powered by Paige Bueckers' Rookie of the Year-caliber season. It's a feel-good story for the Wings, but they're drawing a tough first-round test.

Golden State swept the regular-season series against Dallas and enters as the league's best defense by a wide margin, allowing just 78.8 points a game. The Wings lean on Paige Bueckers and a double-double machine in Jessica Shepard (14.5 points, 11.1 rebounds), but an offense that finished outside the league's top 10 will have to find easy looks against a defense built to take them away.

Dallas wins the series if Bueckers plays like the star she's been all season and the Wings make good on the feel-good return to the playoffs.

Golden State wins the series if the league's best defense keeps doing what it did to Dallas all regular season.

Check our separate game-by-game preview for tonight's leans on all four Game 1s. Two series carry real revenge-tour energy: Liberty-Lynx is a straight rematch of the 2024 Finals, and Fever-Aces pits a team that already won this year's regular-season series against the defending champs. Four Game 1s open the 2026 postseason today, with Game 2 following Tuesday and Wednesday.