In what has already been a gruelling campaign which began way back last September, the AFC Champions League Two is down to its final four.
While technically the continent's second-tier club competition, a wholesale revamp of its tournament structures by the Asian Football Confederation at the start of this season has resulted in an enhanced level of quality and drama.
This has largely been down to the introduction of teams from Asia's top-ranking nations, who previously only competed in the top-level competition -- now the AFC Champions League Elite.
With representatives from nations such as Japan, South Korea and Saudi Arabia now offering sterner opposition for clubs from the middle-tier nations, the ACL Two has looked significantly different from its predecessor -- the AFC Cup.
Nonetheless, while it might have originally been a foregone conclusion that those powerhouse nations would be the only ones represented come the business end of the tournament, there has still been room for dark horses to emerge.
With the semifinals kicking off on Tuesday, we look at the teams still in the running to be crowned champions.
LION CITY SAILORS
There is no better team to begin with than the one that has pulled off the biggest fairy tale run to get to the semis -- the Singapore Premier League's Lion City Sailors.
In getting this far, LCS have matched the best performance by any Singaporean club in AFC competition.
Despite finding themselves in a tough group, the Sailors did brilliantly to finish top ahead of Port, Zhejiang Professional and Persib Bandung, before cruising to an impressive 7-2 aggregate triumph over Muangthong United in the round of 16.
Their journey seemed destined to end when they suffered a 6-1 first-leg defeat at the hands of J1 League powerhouses Sanfrecce Hiroshima in the quarterfinals -- only for the result to be overturned to a 3-0 win in their favour after it emerged that their opponents had fielded an ineligible player.
With that reprieve, the Sailors were able to grind out a 1-1 draw in the return encounter to progress 4-1 on aggregate and match Home United and Geylang International in reaching the semis of the now-defunct AFC Cup in 2004.
While they remain underdogs, the Sailors have consistently shown they have sufficient quality to trouble any opposition, especially with Singapore international Shawal Anuar in the form of his life and star attacker Maxime Lestienne a chance to return from injury after missing out their past four matches.
SYDNEY FC
Similar to their Japanese and South Korean counterparts, A-League outfit Sydney FC is a team that are usually more accustomed to featuring under the brightest lights of Asian football -- but who have made the most of having to take a step down in ACL Two.
Having originally been drawn alongside Sanfrecce -- widely regarded as the strongest side in the competition -- Sydney had to settle for a second-place finish in Group E and then had to grind their way through to knockout round.
They were staring at elimination in the last 16 before an 88th-minute equaliser against ten-man Bangkok United paved the way for a 3-2 aggregate triumph.
A two-goal first-leg led over Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors was also erased by halftime of the return encounter, only for Sydney to rally in the second half and seal their progress with a stirring come-from-behind 3-2 victory.
Although he has not always started, Adrian Segecic has emerged as a key contributor with five goals, while Joe Lolley and Patryk Klimala have arguably outperformed a higher-profile import in ex-Juventus and Bayern Munich man Douglas Costa.
A stable backline, marshalled by captain Rhyan Grant, will also prove a test for the Sailors to break down.
AL TAAWOUN
Although not one of their nation's traditional powerhouses, Al Taawoun sealed their place in the ACL Two after pipping Al Ittihad to an impressive fourth-place finish in the Saudi Pro League last term -- effectively denying the likes of Karim Benzema, N'Golo Kanté and Fabinho continental football for this season.
Al Taawoun are not exactly strangers to featuring on such a stage but only managed to reach the knockout stage of the AFC Champions League once in their three previous appearances.
They have not been able to match last season's high-flying ways and are currently 7th in the SPL, meaning their best chance of glory is likely to come on the continental front.
Al Taawoun were relatively untroubled in the group stage as they notched five wins from six matches, but they have since required penalties to see off both Al Wakrah and Tractor in the round of 16 and quarterfinals respectively.
Gambia international Musa Barrow, who has top-level experience from his time in Serie A with Atalanta and Bologna, has led the way for them with five goals, while they also boast several Saudi Arabia internationals in Sultan Mandash, Mohammed Al-Kuwaykibi and Abdulfattah Adam.
SHARJAH
As one of the traditional giants of Emirati football, Sharjah are regular features in AFC competition and, as a result, always likely to have been one of the frontrunners of this season's ACL Two.
A tricky group stage ultimately saw them finish top although only three points separated them and third-placed Sepahan as the race for the round of 16 went down to the wire.
Perhaps highlighting just how competitive things are in the West Region, Sharjah also required penalties to advance from both their knockout stage ties -- first against Al Hussein and then Shabab Al Ahli.
The latter triumph was particularly noteworthy considering Shabab Al Ahli had been looming as the team to beat, boasting a formidable squad including Iran internationals Sardar Azmoun and Saeid Ezatolahi, as well as ex-LaLiga and Bundesliga man Mu'nas Dabbur.
Still, Sharjah have proven to be no slouches themselves and, with Caio Lucas and Luanzinho -- both on five goals each -- to call upon, have every reason to believe they can be the ones lifting the trophy come May.