The final day of the (regular) Championship season provided plenty of drama in the promotion race. Coventry had long been confirmed as the champions of the second tier, and they ended with yet another convincing win on the final day to end on 95 points, with a massive 97 goals scored from their 46 games.
At the other end of the table, there was nothing to play for, other than pride, with Sheffield Wednesday, Leicester and Oxford United all having been relegated prior to the final day. The Owls managed to record just their second win of the season and, in doing so, avoided the ignominy of ending the campaign with a negative points total. They didn’t quite make it into the black, though; their two wins and 12 draws simply cancelled out their total of 18 points that were deducted for financial misdemeanours.
The big drama, however, concerned the battle for the second automatic promotion spot and the race for the final available play-off berth. Southampton and Middlesbrough knew that they could not earn guaranteed promotion, but equally that they could not drop out of the top six. Despite ostensibly having nothing to play for, Southampton won, while Boro got a good away point that meant nothing to them but was huge in terms of what happened beneath them in the table.
Ipswich Finish the Job and Earn Instant Premier League Return
Ipswich Town 🤝 @premierleague.
WE’RE GOING UP AGAIN! ⬆️ pic.twitter.com/6S6QXdHKDP
— Ipswich Town (@IpswichTown) May 2, 2026
Ipswich began the day a point clear of Millwall and with a far superior goal difference. The board kept faith with highly regarded manager Kieran McKenna, who has been in Suffolk since 2021, and they were repaid as he took them straight back to the Premier League, after having overseen relegation in the 2024/25 season.
The club hierarchy could easily have dispensed with the young boss, especially when the club began the campaign with three draws and a win. After 11 matches, they were 14th in the table, and seven games later, they were still only ninth. However, from that point on, they just got better and better and eased up the table. They only spent nine match-weeks in the automatic promotion spots, but they were there when it mattered. They lost just one of their final 15 fixtures and made no mistake on the final day.
The Tractor Boys always looked like favourites given they were facing a QPR side with nothing to play for and also had home advantage. They made it all too easy, saving their fans any stress, racing into a 2-0 lead after just nine minutes before winning 3-0.
That meant Millwall’s 2-0 home win over relegated Oxford was almost meaningless, but the Lions still had a fantastic season. The victory did mean they finished third and will face sixth-placed Hull in the play-off semis. The real drama on the final day, though, concerned the battle for that final spot in the play-offs.
Tigers Prevail But Dragons and Rams Spent Time in Top Six
I am completely gutted by today’s result but incredibly proud of our season. We’ve come a long way in five years and this was the best result in our 150+ year history. More to do. But for now, we have so much to be proud of, Reds. pic.twitter.com/qPQywrC0mA
— Ryan Reynolds (@VancityReynolds) May 2, 2026
In the final analysis, it will be Hull who progress to the play-offs, an incredible achievement for a team that many tipped for relegation. However, on a dramatic final day, the standings changed many times, and all three clubs that had a chance of extending their season spent some time in that all-important sixth place.
This is how the table looked before kick-off:
| Position | Team | Points | Goal Difference | Opta Chance of Finishing 6th |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 | Wrexham | 70 | +4 | 45% |
| 7 | Hull | 70 | +3 | 34% |
| 8 | Derby | 69 | +7 | 21% |
Wrexham had the toughest fixture, at home against Boro, with Derby hosting Sheffield United and Hull at home against the Canaries. But they also had the upper hand and that was reflected in Opta’s assessment that they had just over a 45% chance of securing a play-off berth.
However, after just four minutes, the Welsh side were up against it, as Boro scored. That very briefly saw Hull move sixth, but just moments later Derby also scored, and all of a sudden it was the Rams who had jumped two places into the play-offs. However, Norwich then took the lead against Hull, with Wrexham drawing level at around the same time.
This left Hull in trouble and Derby still in pole position, heading for 72 points, one more than Wrexham, but the Tigers equalised almost instantly. The tables turned, though, when Wrexham went in front just before half time, sending the home supporters at the Racecourse wild. Their delirium was very short-lived, however, as Boro equalised two minutes later, meaning that once more the Rams were in the box seat.
However, Derby’s season effectively ended in eight second-half minutes, as Sheffield United scored an equaliser after 62 minutes before going in front after 69. At this stage, with Derby losing and the other two hopefuls drawing, it was Wrexham heading for the play-offs.
However, Hull striker Oli McBurnie, who had scored his side’s first goal of the afternoon, added a second after 67 minutes. They now jumped up to sixth with 73 points. Wrexham needed to find a winner, and despite knocking on the door several times, they could not score. That left Hull six minutes of stoppage time to hang on to their win, and they did it, securing three points for the first time in seven games, just when it mattered.
Hull now face Millwall for the right to face Southampton or Boro at Wembley in “football’s richest game”. There’s plenty of excitement left before the final promotion place is decided!