Unrivaled will crown a new champion Wednesday when the top two seeds meet in Miami for the title.
Kelsey Plum and the top-seeded Phantom went 11-3 in the regular season behind one of the most high-powered offenses in the league. On the other side, league co-founder Breanna Stewart and the Mist, who finished second in the standings at 10-4, have a balanced, veteran roster that has been the picture of consistency.
And just over eight weeks after tipping off the 3-on-3 league’s second season, one of them will walk away with Unrivaled’s $600,000 prize pool.
How do the teams match up? What are the X factors and stats that will decide the champ? How did each team reach the final? Here’s everything to know ahead of the title tilt.
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Semifinal results | First-round recap
(1) Phantom vs. (2) Mist
Wednesday, 9:30 p.m. ET, TNT/truTV (Miami)
Matchups to watch
Kiki Iriafen stepped into the starting lineup for the Phantom in the semifinals after Aliyah Boston, Unrivaled’s Defensive Player of the Year, was ruled out of the playoffs. Iriafen, who was named to the WNBA All-Rookie team last September, delivered, finishing with 17 points and 11 rebounds. The Phantom need her to do that again in the championship game against Stewart. The two-time WNBA MVP scored 23 points and grabbed eight rebounds against the Breeze in the semifinals, but Iriafen has proved that she can go up against the league’s best bigs.
The Mist’s depth in the paint, with Alanna Smith coming off the bench, might be biggest challenge for Iriafen. The Phantom don’t have another frontcourt player to back her up. (Phantom teammate Satou Sabally has missed the Unrivaled season as she continues to deal with lingering symptoms from a concussion sustained during the WNBA Finals.)
Both the Phantom and Mist feature high-scoring electric backcourts. For the Mist, Arike Ogunbowale — who hit the game-winning 3-pointer in the semifinals — and Allisha Gray are two of the most dynamic scorers in Unrivaled. They’ll be going head-to-head with Natasha Cloud, who defense was crucial to the Phantom’s comeback against the Vinyl.
But the Phantom also have Plum, who scored 31 points and hit 4 of 8 3-pointers on Monday. The Mist’s Veronica Burton will have her hands full trying to slow Plum, who ranked third in scoring at 22.6 points per game in the regular season. But if Burton can force the Phantom to play more through Cloud and Tiffany Hayes, it could be key for the Mist.
Stats to know
The Mist and Phantom were the top-two scoring teams in the league during the regular season, averaging 77.7 and 73.4 points per game, respectively. Expect a high-scoring, quick-paced and offensively charged championship game.
Plum’s scoring is well-documented, but her efficiency is also noteworthy. She shot 49.6% from the field in the regular season and 63.2% (12-for-19) on Monday. Stewart has been on par with Plum, averaging 21.4 points (sixth in the league) on 50.5 % from the field in the regular season. She shot 41.7% (10-for-24) on Monday. Their point totals Wednesday — and how efficiently they do it — is an X factor.
More on the Phantom: The Phantom have won eight consecutive games and entered the playoffs as the league’s hottest team. It’s a complete shift from a year ago, when they failed to make the playoffs after finishing with the worst regular-season record in 2025. But with nearly an entirely new group — led by first-time Unrivaled player Plum — the Phantom led the standings all season.
Four players averaged double-figure scoring in the regular season. Her numbers dipped slightly at the end of the regular season, but Boston was one of just two players averaging 20 points and 10 rebounds per game most of the way; she led the league in blocks (2.1 per game) and remains a significant loss.
The Phantom’s defense was their biggest asset in the regular season, when they gave up 66.5 points per game, the second fewest in the league. Last year, they gave up the most points.
More on the Mist: Built around veterans Stewart, Allisha Gray and Ogunbowale, the Mist appear to be peaking at the right time. In addition to leading the league in points per game, they ranked first in offensive rebounds (9.1 per game), rebounds (34.8) and steals (5.9). Last week, they set the record for most points scored in an Unrivaled game, putting up 95 against the Breeze. They are also the only team to score 90 points in three straight games, on Feb. 9, Feb. 21 and Monday.
Gray, who was ill and sat out Friday’s regular-season finale but had 12 points in the semifinals, averaged 21.8 points in the regular season.
Semifinal results
(1) Phantom 83, (6) Vinyl 75
Playing without injured Boston (18.9 PPG, 9.7 RPG), the top-seeded Phantom trailed 49-46 at halftime despite Plum’s 18 points. Forward Dearica Hamby dominated the second quarter, scoring 11 points on 7-of-9 shooting for the Vinyl. They stretched the lead to eight points early in the third, but then Cloud (14 points, 4 assists, 2 steals) stepped up the Phantom defense and Plum took over offensively.
For the sixth time this season, Plum hit the game-winner — a step-back 3-pointer — to clinch a spot in the final. The guard finished 12-of-19 from the field, including 4-of-8 on 3-pointers. Iriafen, starting in place of Boston, added 17 points (8-of-13 from the field). Hamby finished with 30 points (11-of-14 from the field) and Rhyne Howard added 16, but hit 2 of 9 3-pointers after draining eight from beyond the arc in the first round.
(2) Mist 73, (5) Breeze 69
It was all Breeze early on. They opened on a 13-0 run. The Mist’s Stewart missed her first five shots and was whistled for her third foul with 3 minutes, 18 seconds left in the first quarter. The Breeze dominated the paint and led by as many as 16 points. But then the Mist heated up, outscoring the Breeze 28-18 in the second quarter to cut the lead to 44-38 at halftime.
On her 29th birthday, Ogunbowale helped take over late in the game. The guard scored eight points in the fourth period (Stewart scored seven) and hit the game-winning 3-pointer. The top scoring reserve at Unrivaled in the regular season, Ogunbowale finished with 21 points, going 5-for-9 on 3-pointers. Stewart had 13 of her game-high 23 points in the second half, Alanna Smith was a perfect 3-for-3 from downtown and Gray hit some timely buckets in the comeback.
For the Breeze, Dominique Malonga had a team-high 18 points and game-high 14 rebounds. Paige Bueckers (8-of-22 from field) and Rickea Jackson each had 17 points.
First-round results
(6) Vinyl 82, (3) Laces 69
The game was won in the third period. The Vinyl trailed by four at halftime, but Howard scored 13 straight Vinyl points and finished with 21 of her team’s 29 third-quarter points. Howard single-handedly outscored the Laces, who finished the period with 17 points.
(5) Breeze 69, (4) Rose 50
Bueckers set the tone early. From an and-1 on the opening possession to a 3-pointer in the fourth period, the guard scored from all three levels. Bueckers finished with a game-high 29 points, hitting 11-of-19 field goals, including 4-for-5 on 3-pointers. Malonga scored six of her eight points in the fourth quarter, but her 17 rebounds were even bigger.
