Few outside the Chaos LC locker room thought the No. 1 seed from last summer would even sniff a playoff run after the 0-4 showing put forth during group play.

But here they are.

Perhaps inspired by a NSFW speech by goalkeeper Blaze Riorden, the Chaos have been red-hot since the start of the playoffs. After a four-goal loss to Chrome LC in their first game of group play, the Chaos responded in the elimination with a five-goal win. Then they played an Archers team favored by some to win the whole thing. The Chaos won in a 13-9 game that they seemed to control from the jump.

So how did the Chaos get to Championship Sunday, a game against Whipsnakes LC scheduled for 12:30 p.m. EDT on NBC? We break it down right here.

GROUP PLAY

vs. Chrome — 13-9 loss
vs. Redwoods — 8-7 loss
vs. Whipsnakes — 12-7 loss
vs. Waterdogs — 10-9 loss

ELIMINATION ROUND

vs. Chrome — 19-14 win

SEMIFINAL ROUND

vs. Archers — 13-9 win

BLAZE RIORDEN

Aside from the aforementioned fiery speech, Riorden has been the league's best goalie for the second season in a row. He has stopped an incredible 63 percent of shots faced, and he's racked up 105 saves — 34 more than Tim Troutner in second place.

Kyle Bernlohr of the Whips has been stellar in his own right, saving 61 percent of shots, but Riorden has been peppered constantly due in large part to a weak faceoff game giving opposing teams plenty of opportunities.

For the Chaos to defy the odds and win a title, Riorden will have to keep it up.

SHARING THE BALL

Head coach Andy Towers opted not to play star Connor Fields in the elimination round and did not directly address his absence. The resulting offense was one with an increased emphasis on ball movement. A bevy of Canadian and Iroquois players with box backgrounds like Josh Byrne, Curtis Dickson and Austin Staats stepped into larger roles and have helped the offense flourish.

Fields wasn't part of the offensive plan in the semifinals either, so it appears likely that Towers prefers the current approach.

JOSH BYRNE

Byrne has been unleashed in the playoffs, tallying six goals and six assists in two games — including the de facto goal of the summer.

On the run, jumping, one-handed and between the legs — @Joshbyrne94 out here treating the @PremierLacrosse semifinals like a game of HORSE pic.twitter.com/nBPZVmbJSL

— US Lacrosse Magazine (@USLacrosseMag) August 7, 2020

Byrne has all the makings of an X factor, even against a stout Whipsnakes defense.