Essex have won their first County Championship title since 1992, completing a remarkable season which saw them hit 25/1 after a stuttering start to their first campaign back in Division One.
Ryan ten Doeschate's team put themselves on the brink of glory when they trounced Warwickshire by an innings inside three days at Edgbaston.
But after their eighth victory of a remarkable season, Essex had to wait for second-placed Lancashire's failure to win away to Somerset to be confirmed before they could start celebrating the silverware.
Story of the odds: Essex's rise from outsiders to champions
- When Sky Bet's title book opened at the end of 2016 season, Essex were 16/1 while the favourites were Yorkshire at 9/4, ahead of champions Middlesex at 7/2
- They drifted out to a top price of 25/1 on April 12 after struggling to a draw in opening match v Lancashire
- Went odds-on for first time on July 18 after a run of four wins in five games
- Could have lost two of first three matches (ended up drawing both of those two) but after that have dominated season with seven wins in next nine.
- First season in top flight since 2010 having won Div 2 last season. First title since 1992 – that one ended the club’s most successful era (six titles in 14 years between 79 and 92).
- Resurgence has come since appointment of former England bowler Chris Silverwood as head coach – Essex have won exactly half of their Championship games under his leadership (14), losing only three.
Lancashire duly lost by seven wickets at Taunton on Friday morning, and Essex have therefore completed their task with two matches to spare - in their first season back in the top flight following promotion from Specsavers Division Two last summer.
It is their seventh title, all their previous successes coming between 1979 and their last one in 1992 when they retained the championship during the all-conquering years of England stars such as Graham Gooch, Nasser Hussain and Derek Pringle.
The glory days have returned under Ten Doeschate and coach Chris Silverwood, the former England bowler who was promoted to his position for the start of the 2016 season and has immediately delivered back-to-back championship seasons in Division Two and then Division One.
Confirmation of Lancashire's defeat came just after noon, while Essex were on their team coach back to Chelmsford - having celebrated their win over Warwickshire if not yet the title in Birmingham the previous evening.
Jubilant Essex captain Ryan ten Doeschate said his side's remarkable County Championship success felt like winning the World Cup.
"I think without a doubt it's the proudest moment of my career. All the years of struggle, all the years of being nearly-beens, this makes up for it," he said.
"If you look back over the history of the championship and the yo-yo effect of teams coming up and going straight back down - and we are a small club with limited resources - I know what it means to me and everyone at the club.
"For us it feels like the World Cup. We won't have a better feeling than this."
Essex's previous six titles came between 1979 and 1992, propelled by England stars such as Graham Gooch, Nasser Hussain and Derek Pringle.
The glory days have finally returned under Ten Doeschate and coach Chris Silverwood, the former England bowler who has delivered back-to-back title-winning seasons in Division Two and then Division One.
"The aim at the start of the season was to make our presence felt in Division One," said Silverwood.
"We view every game as must win and try to do that all the time.
"It's been a team effort. They all love to see each other do well. The number of times we have bowled a side out in a session you can see that energy on the field.
"If you can harness that then the sky's the limit for these guys."
County Championship scores (September 12-15)
Division One
- Edgbaston: Essex (369-9 dec) beat Warwickshire (201 & 112) by an innings and 56 runs
- Uxbridge: Middlesex (204 & 14-1) drew with Hampshire (146)
- The Oval: Surrey (592) drew with Yorkshire (394 & 281-2)
- Taunton: Somerset (335 & 69-3) beat Lancashire (133 & 269) by seven wickets
Division Two
- New Road: Worcestershire (493 & 132-4) beat Leicestershire (404 & 220) by six wickets
- Hove: Derbyshire (338 & 322-8 dec) beat Sussex (271 & 344) by 45 runs
- Bristol: Gloucestershire (385 & 294-9 dec) drew with Kent (386)
- Cardiff: Northamptonshire (310 & 221-3) beat Glamorgan (207 & 320) by seven wickets
Day four review
While Essex were being crowned as champions, Yorkshire dug in to reach 281 for two, 83 ahead, having followed on against Surrey.
Alex Lees made 102 and Shaun Marsh was 125 not out when bad light ended play one over after tea.
Middlesex and Hampshire had long been resigned to a draw in a rain-ruined clash at Uxbridge and though the home side earned four bonus points, turning their overnight 162 for seven into 204 before skittling Hampshire for 146, their second innings reached only 14 for one in nine overs before another stoppage, this time terminal.
The results left Yorkshire on 124 points and Somerset and Middlesex both on 123, with Somerset ahead by virtue of having won one more game. Warwickshire can only reach 122, even in the unlikely event they take maximum points from their final two games.
In Division Two, Worcestershire beat Leicestershire by six wickets to move to the brink of promotion.
A century stand between Zak Chappell (66) and Lewis Hill (60) lifted Leicestershire from 111 for seven overnight to 220 but Worcestershire successfully chased 132 despite Callum Parkinson - twin brother of Lancashire's Matty - taking two for 37 for a 10-wicket match haul.
That left Worcestershire on 216 points, nine ahead of second-placed Nottinghamshire and 38 clear of Northamptonshire in third.
The latter kept themselves in the promotion chase with a seven-wicket win over Glamorgan, making efficient work of a final-day target of 218 despite a nerve-wracking late rain delay.
Rob Newton (53) and nightwatchman Simon Kerrigan (62) laid the platform and though play was delayed for over an hour with just nine required, Alex Wakely and Richard Levi returned to complete the job.
Northants play Notts next week, needing to win to set up a three-way fight in the final week for the two promotion spots.
Kent and Sussex are effectively now out of contention, respectively 43 and 46 points behind Notts with 48 to play for, after the latter came up short in a thrilling finish against Derbyshire while Kent had to settle for a draw with Gloucestershire.
Derbyshire declared overnight to leave Sussex needing to chase 390 to keep their hopes alive. Luke Wells (77), Stiaan van Zyl (85) and Luke Wright (80) kept them in it but Hardus Viljoen took the first eight wickets for match figures of 15 for 170, comfortably eclipsing his previous best of 10 for 114.
In Bristol, Gloucestershire reached 294 for nine as Cameron Bancroft followed up his first-innings 206 with 72 and Gareth Roderick added 78 despite what had initially been described as a season-ending finger injury.
Day three review
Essex are on the verge of their first County Championship title since 1992 after their innings-and-56-run Specsavers Division One win over struggling Warwickshire at Edgbaston.
The visitors, promoted to the top flight only at the end of last season and victorious well inside three days in Birmingham, cannot celebrate the silverware quite yet until there is confirmation of Lancashire's failure to win away to Somerset.
That outcome appears a formality, however, after Lancashire reached a highly-vulnerable 247 for eight and a lead of just 45 at stumps on day three - having followed on the previous evening.
Essex resumed needing only to bowl lowly Warwickshire out for under 168 - with a second innings in hand if they still needed it - and then wait on events down the M5 at Taunton to discover whether they would clinch the title with two matches to spare.
Prolific pair Simon Harmer (four for 25) and Jamie Porter (three for 37) helped to ensure Ryan ten Doeschate's men were never in any danger of having to bat again, sharing 15 wickets in the match as bottom-of-the-table Warwickshire collapsed to 112 all out.
Lancashire fared much better in their second innings, but at the start of play were still 174 runs short of making their hosts bat again.
A painstaking half-century from Haseeb Hameed (62) and then Liam Livingstone's almost equally stoic 57 - heavily restrained from his attacking instincts - tested the patience of Somerset, and Essex, despite yet more wickets for spin twins Jack Leach (four for 79) and Dom Bess (three for 85).
Third-from-bottom Middlesex and Hampshire were again beset by bad weather at Uxbridge, where no play was possible until after tea.
The hosts then did have time to struggle from 76 for three to 162 for seven from 59 overs in all which have so far been possible over three days.
At The Oval, Yorkshire found themselves following on despite a total of 394.
Gary Ballance's men are also still in danger of the drop, and lost regular wickets to the Surrey spinners before then reaching 59 for one second time around to trail by 139 runs.
In Division Two, Worcestershire exposed the frailties of bottom club Leicestershire at New Road as they bid for the victory which will take them above table-toppers Nottinghamshire - who have no fixture in this round.
The hosts had to dig in against slow left-armer Callum Parkinson, who turned his maiden five-wicket haul into figures of eight for 148 but still could not stop Worcestershire reaching 493 all out and a first-innings lead of 89 thanks to opener Brett D'Oliveira's 138 and a half-century too from wicketkeeper Ben Cox (77).
Worcestershire then put the visitors in big trouble with the new ball second time around, Leicestershire stumbling to 10 for four and eventually 111 for seven.
In the mid-table match at Bristol, three Kent batsmen passed 50 as their team eked out a one-run lead with a total of 386 all out, despite Josh Shaw's five for 118 - before Gloucestershire moved to 67 for none at stumps, with opener Cameron Bancroft unbeaten again on 25 after his first-innings 206 not out.
Glamorgan reached a second-innings 320 at home to Northamptonshire, wicketkeeper Chris Cooke (69) top-scoring to help set a target of 217 before the visitors closed on 42 for one.
Like Northants, Sussex are also still just about in the promotion picture behind the top two but are up against it at home to Derbyshire.
Even without their injured captain Billy Godleman, Derbyshire batted well again second time around as a maiden half-century from Harry Podmore (66no) helped them to 322 for eight and an overall lead of 389, despite Stuart Whittingham's career-best five for 80.
Day two review
Essex moved a step closer towards sealing the Specsavers County Championship title this week after taking a stranglehold on their encounter with rock-bottom Warwickshire.
The runaway Division One leaders can wrap up their first championship crown in 25 years if they convert their 161-run lead at the halfway point into victory at Edgbaston and closest challengers Lancashire lose at Somerset.
The Red Rose's faint hopes of pipping Essex suffered a significant setback after they were made to follow-on at Taunton.
But Essex, last season's Division Two champions, fared better with the bat as former Warwickshire opener Varun Chopra returned to haunt his old county with a fine innings of 98.
Highly-rated Dan Lawrence contributed 78 while veteran wicketkeeper-batsman James Foster added 68 as Essex declared on 369 for nine for a first-innings lead of 168.
Jamie Porter and Simon Harmer, the two leading wicket-takers in Division One this season, each had an over at the end of day two but were unable to make a breakthrough as Sam Hain and Dominic Sibley shepherded Warwickshire to seven without loss.
Chopra is hopeful that Thursday could see Essex land the silverware they crave.
He said: "It was a good, solid day for us following on from day one, so with things looking okay for us down in Taunton it could be an exciting day tomorrow.
"All season it has been a complete squad effort with different guys stepping up at different moments throughout the whole season. We have had eight guys get hundreds in the championship and two have got 60-odd wickets so that's fantastic.
"Another squad effort tomorrow and who knows?"
Lancashire were undone by Jack Leach's five for 47 as they were all out for 133 for a first-innings deficit of 202, with Somerset duly inviting their opponents to bat again.
The visitors reached 28 for none second time around but still trail by 174 and face a mountain to climb if they are to keep their title hopes alive heading into the final two games of the season.
Kumar Sangakkara took his championship tally to 1,250 runs for the season after a fluent 164 while Ben Foakes' 110 was his first century of the year as Surrey amassed a mammoth 592 all out against Yorkshire.
However, Yorkshire openers Tom Kohler-Cadmore (78) and Shaun Marsh (77no) led the fightback with a 162-run stand for the opening wicket at The Oval as the visitors closed on 171 for one.
Only 30.1 overs were bowled in soggy Uxbridge where Middlesex limped to 76 for three against Hampshire before rain halted proceedings for the day.
Play was abandoned without a ball bowled due to unfit conditions at the ground on day one but it was the elements that forced a truncated day on Wednesday.
In Division Two, Brett D'Oliveira starred with an unbeaten 121 as promotion-chasing Worcestershire made an encouraging response to Leicestershire's 404 all out.
Neil Dexter's 114 and Zak Chappell's 48 lower down the order swelled Leicestershire's total at New Road but opener D'Oliveira struck 13 fours and a six to lift Worcestershire to 270 for four at stumps.
Richard Levi's 101 steered Northamptonshire to 310 all out for a first-innings lead of 103 against Glamorgan, who closed on 63 for one to trail by 40 at Cardiff.
Cameron Bancroft carried his bat for 206 not out in Gloucestershire's 385 all out before Kent reached 60 for two in reply, while Hardus Viljoen's seven for 80 saw Sussex skittled for 271 before Derbyshire closed on 31 for one for an advantage of 98 at Hove.
Day one review
Jamie Porter and Simon Harmer once again rose to the fore for Division One leaders Essex as they took a firm grip on their Specsavers County Championship encounter with rock-bottom Warwickshire.
The Essex bowlers are the top two wicket-takers in the division this year and took their combined tally to 120 with four scalps apiece as Warwickshire were all out for 201, having lost the toss at Edgbaston.
Paceman Porter made the first two breakthroughs and ended the innings with four for 62 by removing obdurate opener Dominic Sibley, whose anchoring 76 from 183 balls at least prevented complete collapse.
Harmer, meanwhile, finished with four for 47 to take his haul of wickets for the season to 59 before Essex - 36 points clear of Lancashire at the top of the table - closed on 69 without loss.
Varun Chopra looked in supreme touch against a Warwickshire attack including Chris Woakes as he ended the day on 42no to leave Essex 132 runs behind after day one.
Mark Stoneman boosted his chances of retaining his place as England opener for this winter's Ashes series with an assured 131 for Surrey against a toiling Yorkshire at The Oval.
Stoneman failed to make a compelling case for keeping hold of his spot alongside Alastair Cook against the West Indies but did so on Tuesday with 22 fours in an excellent 171-ball innings after Surrey had opted to bat first.
There were also significant returns for Rory Burns (75), Kumar Sangakkara (85no) and Ben Foakes (64no) as Surrey racked up an imposing 398 for three in their first match back at their south London home since a crossbow bolt which landed on the field of play led to the abandonment of last month's encounter with Middlesex in the final session.
Steven Davies proved to be a thorn in Lancashire's side as his 111 carried Somerset to 330 for nine at Taunton.
The hosts were struggling on 105 for four having been put into bat when Davies walked to the crease but the wicketkeeper-batsman shared a 119-run stand with captain Tom Abell before going to three figures late in the day.
The opening day of Middlesex's contest with Hampshire was wiped out by unfit playing conditions at Uxbridge.
Heavy rain on Monday evening ran down the slope at the Park Road sports complex and crept under the covers and sheets leaving umpires Graham Lloyd and Russell Evans with little option but to call things off after their second inspection at 11am.
In Division Two, promotion-chasing Worcestershire were held up by Neil Dexter's unbeaten 102 as Leicestershire amassed 325 for seven at New Road. Captain Mark Cosgrove also frustrated the Pears with a fine 74.
Derbyshire captain Billy Godleman and opener Luis Reece made joint top scores of 51 to help their side to 338 for nine against Sussex at Hove.
Richard Gleeson's five for 60 helped restrict Glamorgan to 207 all out before Northamptonshire closed on 59 for two in Cardiff, while Cameron Bancroft's 124no carried Gloucestershire to 242 for five against Kent in Bristol.