The penultimate round of the Championship saw leaders Norwich City, as well as Sheffield United, earn promotion to the Premier League while Rotherham United slumped to defeat, consigning them to League One next year.
One game was called off as second from bottom Bolton Wanderers and Brentford were scheduled to face off at the Macron Stadium, but the Trotters' players refused to play until they were paid the wages they were owed, further complicating things for the crisis club.
Canaries clinch top-flight status with win over Blackburn, Blades join them a day later
Marco Stiepermann put the leaders in front on 13 minutes with a low drive from just outside the box, beating Blackburn goalkeeper Jayson Leutwiler. The Canaries doubled their lead eight minutes later through Mario Vrancic. The visitors pulled one back through Lewis Travis, but got no closer as Daniel Farke's side sealed a return to the top flight.
The Blades joined Norwich in the 20-team Premier League next term after a 2-0 win over already-relegated Ipswich Town via goals from Scott Hogan and Jack O'Connell. Combined with Leeds United and Aston Villa playing to a wild and controversial 1-1 draw, Chris Wilder's men will be back in the top flight for the first time since the 2006/07 season.
Millers fall to West Brom, drop to third tier
Paul Warne's Rotherham needed to better the result of Millwall, who played to a goalless draw with Stoke City to take their fight for survival to the final day as they travelled to West Bromwich Albion. Clark Robertson silenced the Hawthorns crowd when he nodded in Joe Newell's cross to give the visitors a shock lead.
Jay Rodriguez levelled from the penalty spot in the 77th minute after Dwight Gayle was brought down and Rekeem Harper struck two minutes later to give the Baggies a 2-1 victory and all three points and send the Millers back to the third tier. West Brom will finish fourth as they prepare for the playoffs.
Derby, Middlesbrough, Bristol City fight for final play-off spot
With Leeds, West Brom and Aston Villa all guaranteeing spots in the promotion play-offs, the last remaining place will come down to the last day of the campaign. Derby County came away with a vital 2-0 win at Ashton Gate through goals from Tom Lawrence and Jayden Bogle either side of halftime.
Bristol City sit on 66 points, four points adrift of the Rams, but have a game in hand to keep their slim hopes of a top six place alive. Middlesbrough joined the Rams on 70 points after a come-from-behind 2-1 win over Reading. Danny Loader gave the visitors the lead on 11 minutes with his first senior goal before Lewis Wing levelled and Britt Assombalonga converted a penalty to give the Riverside outfit a crucial win.
Nottingham Forest win, other three games end in draws
Nottingham Forest moved into the top ten with a 1-0 win at Queens Park Rangers as Karim Ansarifard converted Joao Carvalho's through ball to slot past Hoops' goalie Joe Lumley to give Forest their first away win in 15 games while Costel Pantilimon denied the hosts an equalizer, saving Nakhi Wells' late penalty to leave QPR in 19th position.
Elsewhere, Lukas Jutkiweicz's second-minute strike was cancelled out by Nick Powell's goal on the stroke of halftime as Birmingham City and Wigan Athletic played to a 1-1 draw at St. Andrews'. Oli McBurnie's double looked to give Swansea City a key road win before Jarrod Bowen and Nouha Dicko rescued a point for Hull City in a 2-2 draw at the KC Stadium.
The most exciting match of the weekend was contested at Deepdale as Preston North End and Sheffield Wednesday played out a six-goal thriller. Jayden Stockley opened the scoring for the hosts, who saw their lead doubled through an own goal from Tom Lees.
Barry Bannan pulled one back for Wednesday four minutes after halftime before Alan Browne restored the Whites' two-goal lead with a fine finish. Atdhe Nuhiu was the architect of the Owls' comeback, providing Fernando Forestieri with the perfect cross to finish before his header past Preston keeper Connor Ripley closed the scoring.