2025 MLW Slate Five Series One

S. Samek

The final slate of MLW’s regular season starts this week. The Great Lakes Gators play the Western Wildcats this week. It’s also the Chicago series as part of the Summer of Stadiums tour.

This series should have playoff implications as well.

The Great Lakes Gators are 7-5 after dropping their slate four series to the Downtown Diamondbacks. However, they are still tied for first place with the Midwest Mallards. The Gators hold the strength of schedule tiebreaker over the Mallards though, giving them the edge in the quest for the top seed.

A Gators sweep over the Wildcats gets them into the playoffs but also clinches them the top seed. A series win will get them into the playoffs as well but doesn’t automatically clinch them a bye. One win should probably be enough to get them in the playoffs but is a bit dependent on what happens during the other four series. If they get swept, it would also be dependent on the results of the rest of the slate to see if seven wins is enough to make it.

The Wildcats rebounded after a tough slate three with a series win over the Mallards in slate four. That got them to a 6-6 record heading into the last series of the season. However, they have a 2-4 record against the other tied teams heading into the final slate of the year. If the playoffs were getting ready to start, they would miss out.

Fortunately, the Wildcats have one more series. A sweep would get them into the playoffs 100 percent. Two wins and an 8-7 record should be enough to earn a spot. Anything less than that and you need help from other teams. Making it the easiest route to the playoffs for the Wildcats is to win the series.

My prediction is Gators win 2-1. I expect it to be a good series with both teams fighting for their playoff chances. Can’t wait to see it this afternoon.