The 18th Heineken Cup tournament kicks-off on Friday night en route to the final at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday, 18 May, 2013. Here are some of the anticipated milestones along the way.
13 million - The 13,000,000 landmark for fans going through the turnstiles will be broken during the Pool stages with 12,935,397 having attended the 1,214 Heineken Cup matches so far.
10 million - The 10,000,000 milestone for fans attending tournament Pool matches will be broken this season with 9,438,358 so far having watched Pool action.
500,000 - Ulster Rugby, last season's Heineken Cup finalists, are set to welcome the 500,000th fan through their Ravenhill turnstiles. They have already been watched at their Belfast home by 475,009 fans and they will become the fifth club to top the half million home attendance figure behind Toulouse, Leicester Tigers, Leinster Rugby and Munster Rugby.
2,500 - The Scarlets need just 14 points to reach the tournament 2,500 points mark.
1,300 - Ronan O'Gara, the tournament's leading scorer, needs just two points to reach the 1,300 points barrier.
1,250 - The 1,250th tournament match will be the last match to kick-off in Round 3 - the contest between ASM Clermont Auvergne against Leinster Rugby at Stade Marcel Michelin.
500 - David Skrela, the ASM Clermont Auvergne outside-half, needs just 17 points to become only the seventh player to score 500 Heineken Cup points.
350 - Leicester Tigers need just 16 tries to top the 350-try mark.
250 - Biarritz Olympique, the reigning Amlin Challenge Cup champions, are chasing their 250th tournament try having already amassed 230 in 12 seasons.
75 - Northampton Saints will play their 75th Heineken Cup match when they meet Ulster Rugby at Ravenhill in Round 4.
10 - Belgium will become the 10th country to stage Heineken Cup action when Saracens take their Round 2 match against Racing Metro 92 to the King Baudouin Stadium in Brussels.
3 - Leinster Rugby, the 2011 and 2012 champions, are bidding to become the first club to do a Heineken Cup back-to-back hat-trick while the 18th tournament final on Saturday, 18 May, 2013, will be the third staged in Dublin. Three of the Heineken Cup Pool runners-up will again qualify for the knock-out stages of the Amlin Challenge Cup.