THE WNBA saw a surge in viewing figures during the first round of the Playoffs earlier this month – despite the absence of star name Caitlin Clark.

The Minnesota Lynx, Golden State Valkyries, Phoenix Mercury, New York Liberty, Las Vegas Aces, Seattle Storm, Atlanta Dream and Indiana Fever all featured in the first round after finishing as the top eight teams in the league.

Indiana Fever players celebrate their victory over the Atlanta Dream.
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The WNBA saw a surge in viewing figures during the first round of the PlayoffsCredit: Getty

Caitlin Clark on the bench during a game.
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Caitlin Clark has not been able to play due to injuryCredit: Getty
Three of the four series fixtures went to three games, with only the Lynx winning 2-0 against the Valkyries.

And now it has been revealed that they all drew in a huge audience.

ESPN announced on Tuesday that the first round of the Playoffs garnered an average audience of 943,000 viewers across ABC, ESPN and ESPN2.

That makes it the second-most-watched first round in league history, only trailing last year’s.

Game Two in the series between the Atlanta Dream and the Indiana Fever averaged 1.5million viewers, making it the second most-watched first-round Game Two.
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That same series – which went three games – was the second-most-watched first-round series to date, averaging 1.2m viewers.

It stands only behind the Indiana Fever-Connecticut Sun series on ABC and ESPN last year which averaged 2.2m.

Meanwhile, the second contest between the Las Vegas Aces and Seattle Storm averaged 1.1m viewers, ranking it fourth.

Viewership is currently up 125 per cent from 2023.

The high audience statistics come at a time when the likes of Clark, Angel Reese and Sophie Cunningham have all been unavailable.

Star player Clark was recently ruled out for the season due to injury.