Updated MLB playoff bracket after the Championship Series

And then there were two. After three weeks and three thrilling rounds of the MLB postseason, we've now reached the final chapter: the World Series. It's been a long and winding road to get here, full of ups and downs and twists and turns, but in the end, it's the top two teams in baseball squaring off for the Commissioner's Trophy.

Here’s the updated bracket and schedule ahead of what should be a fantastic World Series.

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 Updated MLB playoff bracket

The World Series is officially set: The National League champion Los Angeles Dodgers will take on the American League champion New York Yankees, with Game 1 set for Friday, Oct. 25, from Dodger Stadium. Below is the full World Series schedule.

World Series schedule

Game 1: Friday, Oct. 25
Game 2: Saturday, Oct. 26
Game 3: Monday, Oct. 28
Game 4: Tuesday, Oct. 29
Game 5: Wednesday, Oct. 30 (if necessary)
Game 6: Friday, Nov. 1 (if necessary)
Game 7: Saturday, No. 2 (if necessary)

Recap of Championship Series results

The Championship Series gave us a couple of barnburners. On the AL side, the Yankees and Cleveland Guardians waged just about the tightest (and wildest) five-game series you'll ever see. New York took the first two games at Yankee Stadium with relatively ease, but as the scene shifted to Cleveland, things really went off the rails.

The Guardians were down to their final strike in Game 3, but managed to keep their season alive thanks to a dramatic game-tying homer and then a walk-off from David Fry in the 10th. It seemed like Cleveland was set to keep its mojo going after another late rally in Game 4, but the Yankees scratched two runs off All-Star closer Emmanuel Clase in the ninth to take a commanding 3-1 series lead. To the surprise of absolutely no one, Game 5 was also a classic, heading to extra innings tied at two ... until Juan Soto's instantly iconic three-run homer broke the game open and sent the Yankees on to their first World series since 2009.

On the NL side, the Dodgers found themselves in a dogfight with the Cinderella New York Mets, dropping Game 2 in L.A. and heading to Queens needing at least one road win to keep their World Series hopes alive. But Shohei Ohtani and the Dodger bats woke up in a big way, blasting Mets pitching for two blowout wins in Games 3 and 4. While New York staved off elimination and sent things back West for a Game 6, L.A.'s loaded offense was too much to overcome.

World Series teams and matchups

Where to start? On the Dodgers side, we begin with likely NL MVP Shohei Ohtani, who's gotten all the way to the World Series in his long-awaited postseason debut. Ohtani won't pitch in this series as he continues to rehab from last year's elbow surgery, but he's plenty dangerous enough at the plate, hitting .400 over the final four games of the NLCS against the New York Mets. The top-of-the-order trio of Ohtani, Mookie Betts and Freddie Freeman has carried L.A. all season long, although Freeman's status is up in the air as the star first baseman continues to battle an ankle injury. Names like Max Muncy, Will Smith, Teoscar Hernandez and NLCS MVP Tommy Edman loom as X-factors in this series.

For New York, the conversation starts with the big three of Judge, Soto and Giancarlo Stanton. Soto already has a ring with the 2019 Washington Nationals, but Judge and Stanton will be making their first appearances in the Fall Classic. Stanton has been tremendous all October long, winning ALCS MVP honors, while Judge has struggled, and New York fans will surely be anxious to see whether he can deliver in the biggest moments. Gerrit Cole and Carlos Rodon anchor New York's rotation, with Cole in particular looking to capitalize on what could be his last best chance to win it all.

Playoff standout performances so far

While the Yankees are still waiting for Judge to break out, this postseason has belonged to Soto and Stanton, who boast the two highest OPSes of any player still going in these playoffs. For the Dodgers, Mookie Betts (1.063 OPS, four homers) has finally come alive after a slow start, while Ohtani (.934, three homers) hasn't shown any jitters in his first taste of the postseason stage. A couple of X-factors to watch in this series: Gleyber Torres has been on fire in the leadoff spot for New York as he looks to secure himself a fat contract in free agency, while Enrique Hernandez and Tommy Edman have thrived after being forced into the Dodgers' everyday plans due to a lack of depth in the outfield (and the injury to starting shortstop Miguel Rojas).

Injuries and their impact on the World Series

There's one major injury to monitor on each side in this series. The Dodgers have dealt with a litany of health issues just to get to this point, particularly to their pitching staff, which lost Tyler Glasnow and Clayton Kershaw for the year while missing Walker Buehler and Yoshinobu Yamamoto for large chunks of the regular season. Buehler and Yamamoto are back and pitching well in October, but the fourth starter spot remains a question behind Jack Flaherty.

The main question comes on the other side: Specifically, will Freddie Freeman be able to play as he battles an ankle sprain suffered on the final weekend of the regular season? Freeman gutted it out in the first three rounds, but by the end of the NLCS it was clear that he wasn't nearly the same player — and now Dave Roberts might be forced to leave him off the World Series roster entirely.

The Yankees have had a bit more health luck this season, although question marks still remain. Anthony Rizzo is playing through fractured fingers he suffered in September, and while he's swung the bat reasonably well in the postseason so far, it's clear that he's dealing with significant pain. What's less clear is the status of Nestor Cortes: The left was a stalwart in New York's rotation for much of the year, but a flexor strain in his elbow has put him on the shelf for the entire postseason. Cortes has vowed that he'll be on the World Series roster, but how much he can give is up in the air.