Morocco clinched the 2018 African Nations Championship title on Sunday evening - a first for the North African nation - after dispatching Nigeria 4-0 in the conclusion of the three-week tournament for home-based players.
The hosts began the tournament as they ended it - with a 4-0 victory in front of their own fans in Casablanca - and largely appeared head and shoulders above the rest of the field.
With the tournament in the books, KweséESPN looks back over the 2018 CHAN and reveals his awards for a competition of disparate quality and intriguing subplots.
Player of the Tournament: CAF announced that Morocco's Ayoub El Kaabi had won the Player of the Tournament award in the aftermath of Sunday's final, and it's hard to argue with their appraisal.
The RS Berkane hitman was the tournament's top scorer - comfortably - but his tally of nine goals also broke the competition's all-time record for goals scored in a single competition.
He proved to be much more than a goal poacher with a series of selfless and acrobatic displays, and don't be surprised if he's played his way into Morocco's World Cup squad.
Breakout Star of the Tournament: Beyond El Kaabi, acknowledgement must be given to Augustine Kabaso Mulenga of Zambia, who, at 28, earned a move to Orlando Pirates after a series of fine displays for Chipolopolo.
Beyond him, credit must be given to another Zambian, Ernest Mbewe, who built on his encouraging displays for Zambia during World Cup qualification with a series of effective displays.
Raw pace can hurt teams at all levels, and expect Mbewe, like Kabaso, to earn a move out of Zambia before too long.
Injury of the Tournament: Sadly, this one goes to Mbewe as well, after his agonising - but comedic - injury against Sudan.
The flying right-sider's effort deflected - at point-blank range - off an opposition defender and straight back into Mbewe's crotch.
The winger rode the initial shock, attempting to dribble on a few paces further, before crumbling to the turf with an all-too-familiar distorted expression on his face.
He was duly replaced, although Zambia captain Ziyo Tembo assured KweséESPN afterwards that his teammate was on the road to recovery.
Ouch.
Moment of the Tournament: There wasn't much to match the Namibian delirium when Vetunavi Hambira leaped above the Ivorian defence to head home a 90th-minute winner to down the Elephants in the Group B opener.
The goal sealed a first victory for Namibia against their more illustrious foe, and after Panduleni Nekundi repeated the trick against Uganda in their second match, the Brave Warriors advanced to the knockouts as the tournament's greatest overachievers.
Disappointment of the Tournament: Uganda - Admittedly, the caveat behind Uganda's underwhelming display at the CHAN was that they only appointed coach Sebastien Desabre at the end of December, but still, this was a poor showing.
The Cranes weren't anything close to the sum of their talented parts, with Desabre opting to use his talented array of attackers sparingly, while contending with uncharacteristic lapses in defence.
Whether it's FUFA, Desabre or the players who burden the blame, this was an underwhelming showing from a team who had promised so much.
The Faithfulness Award: Salisu Yusuf deserves this one for the way he admirably stuck with under-fire Anthony Okpotu despite the striker's struggles to make an impact early on.
The Lobi Stars hitman entered the tournament as the NPFL's reigning top scorer having netted 19 last term, but he struggled to get going as the Eagles laboured against Rwanda and Libya.
Nonetheless, Yusuf stuck with his man - insisting that Okpotu would come good - and was rewarded with the equaliser against Equatorial Guinea.
Even against Angola in the quarter final, when Okpotu missed a hatful, Yusuf refused to remove his star frontman, and it ultimately proved to be a wise show of loyalty, as it was the 23-year-old who stepped up to net a 92nd-minute equaliser to take the tie to extra time.
Gamble of the Tournament: After sticking with Okpotu so unswervingly during Nigeria's route to the final, Yusuf then took a major gamble by dropping the hard-working hitman for the showdown against Morocco.
Instead, he introduced wideman Moses Eneji, who had struggled for fitness throughout the campaign, in a potential masterstroke that failed to come off.
The young Plateau United man's sending off early in the second half compounded the task ahead of Nigeria, and 12 minutes after Okpotu had been introduced, the Eagles were 3-0 down.
Match of the Tournament: Amidst many underwhelming contests, Nigeria's 2-1 extra-time victory over Angola stood out.
The Super Eagles, unconvincing during the group stage, dominated the contest but fell behind to Va's fortunate goal just before the hour mark.
Ikechukwu Ezenwa kept them in the contest during a heroic display as Okpotu missed a series of fine chances to level, but the powerful frontman came good in the second minute of stoppage time to take the tie past the 90 minutes.
Buoyed by the goal, the Eagles enjoyed the better of extra time, with substitute Gabriel Okechukwu striking a breathtaking winner in the 109th minute to ensure Yusuf's side reached the final four.