A round-up of the main winners and losers.
Winners . . .
Ian Paisley
Number of DUP seats up, percentage of party vote up, four seats on offer at the ministerial table, all capped with another poll-topping performance in North Antrim.
Gerry Adams
Gains in Sinn Féin seat numbers and in the overall percentage vote, all topped with a lesson in vote-management in his West Belfast constituency, where the party won five out of six seats.
Anna Lo
The Hong Kong native and community worker contributed to the Alliance Party's positive outcome (bringing its tally to seven) by winning a seat in South Belfast.
Brian Wilson
Raised the Green flag in North Down with some ease, winning the fifth seat. The first Green MLA has only been "green" for three years. The 63-year-old spent 16 years sitting on North Down Council for Alliance and four more as an independent before discovering the need to embrace the environmental ticket.
. . . and losers
Bob McCartney
The UK Unionist drew a blank in all of the six constituencies he contested as an anti-St Andrews Agreement candidate.Worst of all, he lost his North Down seat, being eliminated on the seventh count with just 1,806 votes.
Reg Empey
Sir Reg Empey's Ulster Unionists were arguably the biggest losers of the election as the DUP surged ahead. The UUP found little comfort in the middle ground, where they have slipped back by six seats. Not much comfort for the party leader either, as he was not elected until the third count in East Belfast.
Mark Durkan
Sinn Féin put more distance on his party in terms of seats and percentage vote, even in SDLP heartlands. Further humiliation for the SDLP leader came with SF gains in their territory. It got worse when the final seats were filled and it was confirmed that his party would get only one seat at the ministerial table in a new assembly.