Sunderland's 10-year stay in the Premier League was ended as Josh King's late winner for Bournemouth confirmed their relegation.
King struck with two minutes remaining at the Stadium of Light to snatch a 1-0 win which finally ended the Black Cats' hopes of a fifth successive great escape.
There was brief hope from elsewhere as Southampton were awarded a penalty against Hull but Eldin Jakupovic's save earned the TIgers a goalless draw which leaves them 13 points clear of David Moyes' side, who have only 12 to play for.
King had earlier been denied by the woodwork but Jermain Defoe uncharacteristically passed up a series of inviting opportunities for the home side and sections of the 38,394 crowd at the Stadium of Light once again called for Moyes' head on the final whistle.
On an afternoon when the Black Cats ran out knowing the price of failure only too well, they huffed and puffed during a nervy first half in which Bournemouth played the better football and came desperately close to taking the lead.
That said, they had chances and had leading scorer Defoe been able to call upon his early-season form - the last of his 14 goals came nine games ago - they might even have grabbed the lead.
Fabio Borini forced Artur Boruc into an 11th-minute save with a rising drive, but it was Defoe to whom most of the better openings fell and he couldn't make the vital breakthrough.
Eldin Jakupovic's late penalty save handed Hull another boost in their Premier League survival fight but also condemned Sunderland to relegation.
Hull pulled off a gritty goalless draw at Southampton, with Jakupovic palming away Dusan Tadic's late spot kick as the visitors held out for a potentially priceless point.
Hull's point, coupled with Sunderland's 1-0 home loss to Bournemouth, ensured Marco Silva's men edged closer to top-flight safety - and cemented the Black Cats' slip through the trap door.
Just as a low-quality affair at St Mary's appeared to be petering out to a dull finish, Alfred N'Diaye hauled down Maya Yoshida in the box.
Tadic lined up the penalty, only for Jakupovic to guess right, and palm the ball to safety.
Jamie Vardy continued his red-hot run in front of goal as Leicester eased their Premier League relegation fears with a 1-0 win at West Brom.
Vardy made no mistake two minutes before half-time as Leicester won away from home in the top-flight for only the second time this season.
His strike was his 17th of the season, his third in the last four games and his eighth in 12 matches under the control of manager Craig Shakespeare. It was also the third successive game that he had scored at The Hawthorns.
While Vardy has hit form at just the right time, Albion have hit a losing habit and a goal drought. Tony Pulis's team have lost their last four games - and failed to score in their last five. They have won only once in eight games as they limp towards the end of the season.
Stoke City and West Ham United both edged towards Premier League survival after an action-packed 0-0 draw kept them well clear of the relegation struggle below them.
Goalkeepers at both ends shone as Stoke's Jack Butland kept out two efforts by West Ham's Ghana forward Andrew Ayew, notably a spectacular overhead kick in the 36th minute, while he also thwarted Manuel Lanzini.
West Ham's Spanish shot-stopper Adrian denied Marko Arnautovic, Saido Berahino and Xherdan Shaqiri, the latter also missing Stoke's best chance of the match when he dragged his shot wide from close range.
Stoke piled on the pressure in the closing stages as they started whipping inviting crosses into West Ham's penalty area but the visitors held firm to stretch their unbeaten run to four games, albeit three of them draws.
