Ipswich Town sealed promotion to the Premier League while Hull won the battle for the final playoff place on a dramatic final day of the Championship season.
Two goals from George Hirst and Jaden Philogene in a devastating opening nine minutes eased any nerves and Kasey McAteer grabbed a third five minutes from time.
The result means Kieran McKenna is the first Ipswich manager to mastermind three promotions — two to the top flight.
Ipswich had to win the game as both Millwall and Middlesbrough were hot on their heels.
The Lions beat Oxford 2-0 while Boro could only draw 2-2 at Wrexham, leaving Ipswich a point clear in second place.
Ipswich had last been in the Premier League in 2024-25 — their first season back in the top flight after a 22-year absence.
But following relegation with just 22 points — and four wins in the top flight — the squad underwent a rebuild, with a number of key players from the promotion push two seasons ago heading elsewhere.
Chief among them were Liam Delap, who moved to Chelsea for £30 million ($40.7m), and Omari Hutchinson, who went to Nottingham Forest for £37.5m ($51m).
Eleven fresh players bolstered the squad in Suffolk, including winger Sindre Walle Egeli from Danish side Nordsjælland, Darnell Furlong form West Bromwich Albion, and Marcelino Núñez from east Anglian rivals Norwich.
McKenna’s new-look side struggled at the start of this Championship term — having to wait until September for their first league win of the season, a 5-0 thrashing of Sheffield United.
August also saw them knocked out of the EFL Cup by League Two side Bromley on penalties.
But after autumn, Ipswich got motoring — and a 1-0 defeat of West Brom on Oct. 25 sparked a run of 10 league games with one defeat.
By Christmas Day, they sat third in the table, only behind Middlesbrough and ultimately title-winning Coventry City.
Having started slowly, McKenna’s men never looked back after Christmas and turned Portman Road into a fortress, with just the one home loss in the entire season.
Without the services of Delap, goalscoring was spread steadily across the side, with Jack Clarke’s 16 the joint-fourth highest in the division.
Jaden Philogene, who moved to Ipswich from Aston Villa, became a serious threat on the left hand side with 11 goals to his name, while George Hirst delivered a respectable 10 when used up front.
By the tail end of the season, it had become clear that Ipswich were targeting the second automatic promotion spot, keen to avoid the drama that is the playoffs.
And in their final 15 games this term, the steam did not run out — embarking on a spell of 15 league matches with just one defeat. They held promotion rivals Millwall and Middlesbrough to draws in March and April, ensuring those dropped points were offset beneath them.
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Their performances meant promotion was in their hands going into this final day, knowing that earning three points from their match against QPR would book their return to the Premier League.
Hirst opened the scoring in the third minute to settle the nerves, before Philogene made it two just minutes later.
They extended their lead in the ninth minute when Philogene pounced.
A killer third goal in the 85th minute through McAteer to turn the stadium into a riot of noise — and send the side back to the top flight at the first time of asking, joining champions Coventry.
Millwall, Southampton, Middlesbrough and Hull will have to battle it out in the playoffs for the final promotion spot.
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