For the first time since 2013, Asia's premier club competition will not see teams from the East and West regions kept apart until the decider.
With the Asian Football Confederation revamping its tournaments this season, the newly-introduced Finals of the AFC Champions League Elite -- where the quarterfinals, semifinals and final will all be conducted in a centralised venue a whirlwind span of ten days -- has also seen the removal of the zonal segregation after the round of 16.
And as it took place on Monday afternoon in the AFC's headquarters in Kuala Lumpur, the draw for the last eight did not fail to deliver its fair share of tantalising East vs. West ties.
As the respective top seeds of the East and West regions, Saudi Pro League giants Al Hilal and J1 League outfit Yokohama F. Marinos were kept in separate halfs of the bracket -- ensuring they could potentially meet in the final.
Al Hilal were the first team drawn and soon found themselves pitted against high-flying debutants Gwangju FC, who have been the tournament's surprise package, while Marinos -- last season's runners-up -- eventually saw their name slotted next to Cristiano Ronaldo's Al Nassr.
Saudi Arabia's unsurprising domination of the West region meant they also had one other representative in the last eight.
Al Ahli, who are the only team other than Al Hilal yet to taste defeat this term a boast a plethora of stars including Riyad Mahrez, Roberto Firmino and Ivan Toney, will meet Thai League 1 champions Buriram United.
Meanwhile, Japan's other contenders Kawasaki Frontale will take on Al Sadd of Qatar.