Considering they arguably have been the two best teams in the tournament, it is fitting that it is Vietnam's Công An Hà Nội and Buriram United of Thailand that are contesting the ASEAN Club Championship final.
On Wednesday, both teams lived up to the billing -- combining for a thrilling 2-2 first-leg draw at Hàng Đẫy Stadium that leaves the tie evenly poised ahead of next week's return encounter.
And, while it was a club contest rather than one on the international stage, the fierce Thailand-Vietnam rivalry that has dominated ASEAN football in recent times was on full display as moments of sheer brilliance were coupled with feisty, antagonistic play from both sides.
Having claimed a 2-1 win in their previous meeting at the start of the campaign back in August, another victory for CAHN looked on the cards when they opened the scoring after 18 minutes.
With his back to goal, a brilliant no-look, first-time pass by Alan Grafite sent Nguyễn Quang Hải racing down the right.
With a slide rule-pass of his own, Quang Hải released Vitão in behind the Buriram defence and the Brazilian was able to guide the ball past opposition goalkeeper Chatchai Budprom to leave compatriot Léo Artur with the simplest of tap-ins at the far post.
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Even prior to this, CAHN had started the tie the brighter of the two teams. They now looked firmly in the ascendancy.
The hosts taking the lead did however seem to jolt some life into Buriram. While they originally looked happy to sit back and assess what their opponents had to offer, they now began to push forward with more intent.
Just ten minutes after falling behind, they had their equaliser.
Despite being one of the tallest players on the field standing at 1.95 metres, Curtis Good was somehow left completely unmarked at the base of a sea of players jostling for position.
As Peter Žulj swung a corner into the area, Good was able to ghost around the back unopposed and meet the delivery with a deft header beyond Filip Nguyen's despairing dive.
Nonetheless, as simply as they had pulled level, the visitors would allow CAHN to retake the lead in the 35th minute.
There looked to be no apparent danger when a left-wing cross was sent into the box but the Buriram defence looked hesitant and showed no urgency in dealing with the threat.
Sasalak Haiprakhon let the ball bounce awkwardly past him as he attempted to intercept while Good took a second too long to read the danger and charge out in support.
It allowed Grafite to pounce on the loose ball and create just enough of a half-opening with his dancing feet, before drilling a shot past Chatchai into the bottom corner.
Although the tempo curiously dropped off early on in the second half, the chances continued to fall on either end of the ground.
Lê Văn Đô could have killed off the contest in the 58th minute only to blaze wildly over after being picked out unmarked inside the area by a visionary pass from Léo Artur.
Two minutes later, Buriram looked destined to equalise as Dion Cools whipped in a dangerous low ball into the six-yard box but, with plenty of opponents lurking, Filip did well to stick out a leg and divert the ball away before any of them could capitalise.
Just when it looked like CAHN might have done enough for a one-goal lead to take to Thailand next week, the visitors would provide one final twist to the tale with 11 minutes remaining.
No stranger to the spectacular, Guilherme Bissoli decided to unleash a speculative effort from range after being left in space outside the area.
Although Filip was equal to that original task, he failed to get sufficient distance on his parry -- allowing the charging Žulj to follow up and inventively guide an awkward haeder into the ground and bouncing over the line.
The draw perhaps a fair result but one that certainly would not have disappointed any neutrals watching, although the majority of the 13,897 in attendance would have begged to differ.
The ASEAN Club Championship has not failed to live up to expectations. And there's still the matter of a second leg to look forward to in a week's time.