After an enthralling league stage in the inaugural campaign of the AFC Champions League Elite, it is time for the knockout round.
The marathon battle to win Asia's premier club competition has been whittled down to 16 contenders, and new champions will definitely be crowned following a remarkable failure to progress by Al Ain -- last season's winners.
Starting Monday and running through to next week, teams will face off over two legs with West and East Asia segregation still in place.
The prize on offer? The chance to make it to the tournament's new centralised Finals format, which will see the quarterfinals, semifinals and final all take place in Saudi Arabia over a span of over a span of 11 days from April 25 to May 4.
Here, we take a closer look at the 16 clubs still in the running to be the maiden winners of the ACL Elite.
Al Hilal vs. Pakhtakor
Perhaps unsurprisingly, the West region was dominated by the Saudi Pro League's representatives and it was Al Hilal who ultimately finished top of the pile with an impressive record of 22 points from a possible 24.
Al Hilal's 24 goals was also the biggest haul in the league stage and they boasted an even spread of contributors, with captain Salem Al-Dawsari leading the way with seven.
One impressive aspect of Al Hilal's dominant displays has been the fact that they have been without star striker Aleksandar Mitrović since the start of the new year and yet haven't looked like they have missed him at all, with up-and-coming Brazilian prospect Marcos Leonardo filling his void admirably.
The likes of João Cancelo and Sergej Milinković-Savić have also been handy contributors and, on paper at least, it seems unlikely that Uzbekistan's Pakhtakor will pose them too much of a hurdle.
Pakhtakor scrapped through to the round of 16 on goal difference as one of three sides tied on seven points, and managed just one win from eight.
They also had the joint-worst offensive record with just four goals to their names.
As arguably Uzbek football's biggest team, Pakhtakor are a proud club and do have a creditable history in the top level of Asian club competition - having gone as far as the semis in 2004.
Nonetheless, a daunting test against Al Hilal could just be a bridge too far this time around.
Ah Ahli vs. Al Rayyan
Like Al Hilal, Al Ahli cruised through the league stage with a record of seven wins and one draw, scoring 23 goals along the way while conceding just eight.
Familiar names Ivan Toney and Riyad Mahrez led the way with five goals apiece, while Roberto Firmino was just one behind.
Al Ahli have also been active in the midseason transfer window but perhaps one concern could be the tinkering with a system that is hardly broken.
Belgian import Matteo Dams was initially fielded at left-back but then was moved to the centre of defence in their league-stage finale against Al Gharafa, which saw Roger Ibañez pushed out to the right when he already had formed a fine partnership with Merih Demiral.
Any weakness in the backline certainly has the potential to be exploited by Al Rayyan, even if they finished 7th in the league stage.
Al Rayyan's 4-4-2 formation is a bit of a throwback but it also means they are never lacking in attacking impetus, with Róger Guedes the perfect spearhead while Trézéguet provides a real threat down the wing.
Al Ahli's narrow 2-1 win when both teams met earlier in the campaign suggests that this could be a close one.
Al Nassr vs. Esteghlal
The third of the SPL's representatives -- and the only one to taste defeat thus far -- Al Nassr will still be optimistic in their title prospects given the sheer talent at their disposal.
Cristiano Ronaldo has not disappointed so far with six goals but they perhaps need to get more out of Sadio Mané, who never fails to weigh in with guile and industry but should be of greater value than the solitary goal he has chipped in with so far.
When Al Nassr met Esteghlal back in October, they only managed a narrow 1-0 win courtesy of an Aymeric Laporte strike.
Esteghlal required a final-day 2-0 win over Al Rayyan to secure their last-16 berth and will be Iran's sole representatives following Persepolis' exit.
Esteghlal were twice champions of Asia previously but not since 1991, and will need to pull off a major upset if they are to move one step closer to a third title.
Al Sadd vs. Al Wasl
On paper the closest battle in the West, given it will be between the fourth and fifth-placed sides, Al Sadd will head into their tie with Al Wasl as the slight favourites based on form and history.
Al Sadd were the "best of the rest" given they finished fourth but five points adrift of the leading Saudi Arabian trio. Their record of three wins, three draws and two losses -- with a goal difference of just one -- also suggests there was little between them and the opposition they came up against.
Two-time AFC Player of the Year Akram Afif continues to be their main man but they will be hoping for more from their foreign contigent, especially with forwards Cristo González, Rafa Mújica and Adam Ounas combining for just one goal between them.
Meanwhile, Al Wasl -- who are featuring in the knockout round in the ACL era for the first time -- may not be as illustrious an outfit as their opponents, but their success has been based on being a well-drilled and settled side.
Al Wasl's preferred five-man defence, usually anchored by Jung Seung-Hyun, can be tough to break down and affords the likes of Ali Saleh and Nicolás Giménez the freedom to exploit any spaces in the offensive third.
The main query over Al Wasl is their lack of a main attacking outlet, with their top scorer thus far being Fábio Lima on just two goals.
There was nothing separating the two teams earlier in their campaign as they played out a 1-1 draw in November.
Yokohama F. Marinos vs. Shanghai Port
While the West was dominated by the Saudi Pro League, the J1 League proved to be the main force in the East region -- and none surpassed Yokohama F. Marinos.
Even discounting the disarray that arose through Shandong Taishan's abrupt withdrawal, Marinos would still have finished top of the pile -- and the 23 goals they scored in eight outings was the best record in the East.
After a disappointing 2024 on the domestic front, Marinos are certainly enjoying their continental exploits and they will have extra motivation to go far after losing last season's final to Al Ain.
Despite having a new man at the helm in ex-Chelsea and England assistant coach Steve Holland, Marinos have retained the bulk of last year's squad and their prospects should once again be heavily dependent on spearhead Anderson Lopes.
Shanghai Port, who only made it following Shandong's self-enforced exit, have their fair share of stellar names but are still trying to find some fluidity given a number of recent arrivals.
The Chinese Super League champions have lost their past two ACL Elite outings, conceding six goals in the process, and will have to find some sort of rhythm if they are to match it with Marinos.
Kawasaki Frontale vs. Shanghai Shenhua
Like Marinos, Kawasaki Frontale are also using the ACL Elite to make amends for a disappointing J1 League campaign.
Despite previously enjoying a golden era between 2017 to 2021, where they won four league titles, Kawasaki have not been able to replicate that in Asia and the quarterfinals is the furthest they have reached in ten previous appearances.
While they have Brazilian duo Marcinho and Erison to call upon, Kawasaki's biggest talisman at the moment remains Shin Yamada, whose 19-goal campaign in the J1 League last term must have him in the Japan reckoning for the upcoming Asian qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
In what will be another Japan-China clash, it is worth nothing that Shanghai Shenhua were the only side that inflicted defeat on Kawasaki -- a 2-0 loss at the end of October.
While they were previously heavily reliant on André Luis, Saulo Mineiro has made an instant impact since arriving mid-campaign and scored a hat-trick last time out.
The emergence of an alternative route to goal could just bolster Shenhua's chances of overcoming the formidable challenge that is Kawasaki.
Johor Darul Ta'zim vs. Buriram United
An all-ASEAN encounter means that at least one Southeast Asian side will reach the quarterfinals.
Buriram United have been there once before but, for Johor Darul Ta'zim, that would be unprecedented.
It is hard to pick between two evenly-matched teams but JDT looks to be the one that has strengthened more during the midseason break, bringing in fresh imports such as Jonathan Viera, Álvaro González and Roque Mesa.
The fact that the Malaysia Super League giants qualified in third place also highlights just how well they are faring matching it against the continent's traditional powerhouses.
Buriram ultimately did enough to advance in 6th spot but there were times where their quest to reach the last 16 looked to be in serious doubt.
The return of Thailand wonderkid Suphanat Mueanta from a loan spell in Belgium has been a huge boost.
Whether he or JDT's own livewire Arif Aiman shines brighter could decide this contest.
Gwangju FC vs. Vissel Kobe
At various stages of the campaign, both Gwangju FC and Vissel Kobe looked like they could be the team to beat.
Gwangju were the fast-starters, remarkably marking their tournament debut with a stunning 7-3 rout of Marinos and then following up with two more triumphs.
While they have since faded a little, it will still be interesting to see how far they can go given they are one of South Korean football's more humble outfits compared to usual suspects such as Ulsan HD and Pohang Steelers -- who were both disappointing in their failures to progress from the league stage.
Vissel ultimately slumped to fifth following a final-day loss to Shenhua but it should be remembered that they fielded a reserve XI given they had already progressed.
At their best, with star names such as Yuya Osako and Yoshinori Muto leading the way, Vissel will believe they can beat anyone.
As the ACL Elite approaches its business end, Vissel will be looking to get back to their early-campaign form and see aside the plucky challenge of Gwangju.