This year's 7-Up national waterpolo championship comes to a close in the last weekend of September when the last two matches are played.
However, the outcome of tomorrow's crunch derby between Sliema and Neptunes will give a clear indication of where the honours will be heading to, one week in advance.
The two powers of local waterpolo, between them winners of 42 championships, will again contest this season's top ASA honour as they head for tomorrow's crucial match jointly on top with 21 points.
Neptunes are the 2002 Winter League champions but this summer they still have to beat Sliema after an 8-8 draw in the preliminary phase and an 8-4 win for the Blues which practically heralded their charge back to the top of the standings after a rather bleak period which even had some critics writing Sergio Afric's team out of contention.
A win for either side will be a big step towards claiming the league the following weekend but a drawn result could see a repeat of the Winter League finale. On that occasion Neptunes prevailed 6-5 in a tight decider against Sliema after both teams had finished on a par in the round robin competition.
If again needed, a decider is scheduled for Tuesday, October 1.
At present, Sliema are on a high... four successive wins steering the team into high gear and to the top of the Division One standings with a good chance of retaining the league title they won so dramatically last season.
Last week, Marsascala were expected to offer a tough challenge when facing Sliema as they were coming from a sensational 12-11 upset of Neptunes. However, Afric's sharp tactics were too much for the spirited team from the south and in the end, with John Soler again very much in evidence, Sliema cantered home to a 12-4 win.
Neptunes, who chalked up their last of 16 national titles way back in 1993, revived their championship hopes last Saturday with a fine 10-8 win over Sirens who are now practically out of the title race.
The Reds, who face Marsascala in their last match today week, were in the doldrums after a series of poor performances saw them forfeiting their lead at the top.
Today, Marsascala meet Sirens in a match which only seems important for classification purposes even though the latter still have a slim chance of finishing on the same number of points with the two front-runners... but they have to win their next two matches first.
Today, Dirk Dowling's Exiles will be crowned Division Two champions if, as expected, they gain at least a point from their match against lowly Otters.
It would certainly be the cherry on the cake for Dowling, the coach who led the national team to some astounding results this year including an unprecedented third placing in the European B Championships in Sweden last month.