When do the MLB playoffs start? Dates, format and how to watch

The 2024 MLB regular season is quickly coming to an end and the playoffs are just around the corner.

The 12 best baseball teams are battling for a chance to be crowned 2024 World Series champions at the end of the postseason – who will it be this year?

As you prepare to watch baseball’s postseason games for about a month starting in October, here’s everything you need to know about key dates, the format and ways to watch the games.

The MLB playoffs officially begin on Tuesday, October 1, with the first games of all Wild Card Series. From there, the postseason could last a month if the World Series moves into a seventh game, which would be played on November 2.

Here’s a full breakdown of key dates for the 2024 MLB playoffs.

Wild Card Series

Division Series

Championship series

World Cup

It is important to note that if the Championship Series ends sooner than expected, Game 1 of the World Series will be moved up to Tuesday, October 22. This means a possible Game 7 would take place on Wednesday, October 30.

The six top-seeded MLB teams from the National League and the American League compete for the World Series title, making a total of 12 playoff teams.

The top two seeds in each league will receive a bye into the Wild Card Series. The top seed will be determined by the team with the best league record. Second place will be determined by the team with the second best league record.

From there, the third-place finisher will have the third-best league record. The final three spots will be determined by the three best records in the wildcard positions.

Since the 2022 playoff format expanded from 10 to 12 teams, there are no longer tiebreakers, which are determined by “Game 163,” as it is often called. If there is a tie in the final reckoning, the winner is determined by regular season math. A full explanation can be found here.

Here’s a breakdown of how each playoff round works.

Wild Card Series

Because the top two teams in each league receive byes in the Wild Card Series, there will only be four Wild Card matchups in total. The 6th seeded teams from both leagues will face the 3rd seeded teams, while the 5th seeded teams will play the 4th seeded teams. These series will now be played as best-of-three series, whereas previously teams played a single elimination game.

The higher seeded teams, i.e. teams No. 3 and No. 4, will host the Wild Card Series for the entire duration.

Division Series

Teams will not be re-seeded based on the results of the Wild Card Series. The top-ranked teams will face the bottom-ranked teams and so on. There will be four matchups in total, two for each league.

The Division Series is a best-of-five series. The higher seeded teams host the first two games, then their opponents host the next two games (if necessary), and then the higher seeded team hosts a fifth game if necessary.

Championship series

In the Championship Series, a best-of-seven series, only two teams remain from each league. The top-ranked team hosts the first two games, followed by the lower-ranked team for the next three. The top-ranked team then hosts the final two games again if necessary.

World Cup

The format of the World Series is identical to that of the Championship Series.

The Wild Card Series will be shown on ABC, ESPN and ESPN2 over the three days. The games will also be available on ESPN apps.

From there, the National League’s Division Series and Championship Series will be broadcast exclusively on Fox and FS1, while the American League will be shown on TBS, truTV and the streaming service Max. These games will be available to fans who subscribe to MLB.TV and subscribe to the networks through a TV provider.

The World Series will be broadcast exclusively on Fox.

MLB has not yet released a full broadcast schedule, but here are the latest details for fans looking to tune into the MLB playoffs.