The American League Division Series (ALDS) is a round of the American League playoffs in Major League Baseball that determines which two teams from the American League will advance to the American League Championship Series. The ALDS consists of two best-of-five series, featuring each of the two division winners with the best records and the winners of the wild-card playoff. The teams that play in the two best-of-five series are the three division winners (AL East, AL Central, AL West) and the wild card winner. The wild card team plays the divisional winner with the best winning percentage in the regular season in one series, and the other two division winners meet in the other series, with the team with the second-best winning percentage receiving home-field advantage. In each of the two series that comprise the ALDS, teams play a maximum of five games with the first team to three wins taking the series. The fourth and fifth games are played on an as-needed basis if neither team reaches three wins in the first three games. The winners of each series advance to the American League Championship Series (ALCS), which is a best-of-seven playoff and one of two League Championship Series that make up Major League Baseball’s last stage.