Aces vs Liberty WNBA game falls short of Caitlin Clark's playoff debut viewership despite being most-viewed semifinal in 22 years

Aces versus Liberty games are some of the WNBA's most attractive matchups, especially after they clashed in the 2023 WNBA Finals. They are battling it out for a spot in the biggest series this season, but despite drawing impressive records for a semifinal game on Sunday, they only drew half of viewers than Caitlin Clark's playoff debut for the Indiana Fever a few weeks ago.

ESPN's press room shared a graphic breaking down the records the game broke. It was the third-most viewed playoff game in ABC history. It was up 60% compared to last year's semifinal game on the network (Liberty vs. Sun, Game 4) and peaked at 1.2 million viewers.

In comparison, Caitlin Clark's playoff debut, which also happened during an NFL Sunday, drew 1.84 million viewers. That game was the third-most watched postseason game outside of the finals, only behind Game 2 of the LA Sparks vs. Houston Comets duel in the Western Conference finals (2.62 million).

The second game on this mini-list is Clark's second playoff game this season, which drew 2.5 million viewers on ESPN. The duel was the most-watched WNBA playoff game of all time on ESPN platforms.

While these numbers confirm that Caitlin Clark's popularity is huge, it's something positive that the Aces-Liberty semifinal matchup is drawing all this attention, even surpassing the 1-million viewer threshold at some point. They have four or five of the biggest stars in the league and history between them.

This could have been another edition of the finals, but the two-time defending champion Aces finished fourth in the regular season.

Aces vs. Liberty return to the court on Tuesday night for Game 2

The Aces vs. Liberty series should be the biggest draw the WNBA can present to its fans. The two squads have earned a reputation in the past couple of years, and their duels always draw much attention.

Game 1 showed that the Liberty might be one step above the Aces, but as ESPN's Stephen A. Smith said, as long as it has A'ja Wilson, Las Vegas will always stand a chance. The Aces lost 87-77 in the series opener, and Becky Hammon should send a different team to the court on Tuesday night.

The Liberty, who were a league-best 32-8 in the regular season, remain undefeated in the postseason. They are on a mission, and if Las Vegas falls behind 2-0, it'll be hard to see the Aces overcoming that deficit.