Leeds and West Brom secured promotion to the Premier League in a Football Manager simulation of the Sky Bet Championship's final day.
The simulation, carried out by Sky Sports, saw the current top-two in England's second tier battling with Nottingham Forest for the automatic promotion places.
Heading into matchday 46, Leeds topped the division with 84 points and a goal difference of +28. West Brom and Nottingham Forest were level on 82 points, although the Baggies' significant better goal difference, +31 compared to +20, left them sitting in second.
Fulham and Brentford had their play-off places confirmed going into their last day of the regular season, while Bristol City, Preston, Blackburn and Millwall all had the chance of securing sixth.
West Brom ended up winning the title following a comfortable 1-0 victory over QPR, while there was big drama in the battle for second.
Leeds surprisingly lost 3-1 at home to Charlton, who avoided relegation as a result, and finished with nine-men after Helder Costa picked up only his second red card of his career. Luke Ayling was also shown a second yellow card in the closing stages.
However, the biggest moment came at the City Ground, where Forest could have sealed automatic promotion with victory over Stoke.
In the 87th minute, Forest were awarded a penalty after Danny Batth brought down Nuno da Costa. The forward took the spot kick but was denied by Jack Butland, meaning that the game finished 0-0 and Sabri Lamouchi's side missed out on promotion by a single point.
At the other end of the table, Barnsley and Wigan joined Luton in dropping down to Sky Bet League One.
How did the Sky Bet Championship end up?
Sky Sports' Football Manager simulation
- West Brom - 85pts
- Leeds - 84pts
- Nottingham Forest - 83pts
- Brentford - 77pts
- Fulham - 77pts
- Bristol City - 72pts
How the Sky Bet Championship top-six stands after 37 games
- Leeds - 71pts
- West Brom - 70pts
- Fulham - 64pts
- Brentford - 60pts
- Nottingham Forest - 60pts
- Preston - 56pts
The uncertainty about the Championship remains with the season on pause for the foreseeable future.
The resumption of the 2019/20 campaign continues to be in the balance due to the current coronavirus pandemic.
Reports on Friday emerged stating that the preferred contingency plan, should the season not be resolved on the pitch, involves promoting the current top-two, while those in the play-off positions still get a chance at promotion.
The talk of points-per-game has become louder after France's Ligue 1 became the first major division to decide their standings through this method.
It hasn't come without its problems though after Lyon warned they could launch legal action after missing out on the European spots.
Rudi Garcia's side have been placed seventh after the campaign was cut short. It means they fail to qualify for Europe, which the club claims could cost them tens of millions of Euros.
If the Championship elected to go down the same route, how would the final table look and who would be promoted?
We dissect the method and ask if it is fair to take the current standings as they are to decide who gets a shot at reaching the Premier League. You can read that full feature here.
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