Warwickshire won their first County Championship since 2012 as they beat Somerset by 118 runs at Edgbaston.
After declaring at 294-3 to set Somerset 273 to win in 79 overs, the Bears bowled out the visitors for 154.
The Bears' eighth title triumph denied Lancashire, who will instead have to settle for second place - and a meeting with Warwickshire in next week's Bob Willis Trophy final at Lord's.
England all-rounder Chris Woakes took 3-39 as Somerset collapsed from 31-0. Craig Miles took 3-26, while Liam Norwell claimed the final wicket of Somerset last man Jack Brooks - but local boys Woakes and Rob Yates, with his 132 not out, led the Bears' fight.
After a three-year absence from the Bears' red-ball team because of his England commitments, Woakes has bounced right back to his best form over the past two matches to take 12 wickets.
Woakes is the only survivor from the Bears' last title triumph in 2012, when he made eight appearances - and he followed his 3-40 and 3-26 on his return to action against Yorkshire at Emerald Headingley last week by again taking six wickets in the match here. In a fitting finale to an otherwise frustrating injury and Covid-affected season for the 'Brummie Botham', it was also good news for England.
Woakes also more than proved his fitness ahead of this winter's scheduled Ashes tour, sending down 46.3 overs in the match as the Bears' most utilised bowler. It was very hard luck on Lancashire, one of the four teams separated by just 6.5 points at the start of this final round of matches.
After Nottinghamshire dropped out of the running, they had ended Hampshire's hopes of a first title since 1973 in Liverpool with a thrilling Dane Vilas-inspired one-wicket victory at Aigburth. And if the Bears had failed, Lancashire would have been champions for the first time since 2011 when, with some irony, they beat Somerset at Taunton to pip Warwickshire to the title.
Instead, their outright title count remains at eight, although they did also share the title with Surrey in 1950. They now have the chance to make amends over five days at Lord's next week in the second Bob Willis Trophy final, starting on Tuesday, although the weather forecast is none too promising.
It’s the third year in succession that Somerset, also beaten at Edgbaston on Saturday night in the T20 Blast final, have been present when English cricket's red-ball title was won. They were runners-up to Essex in the Championship when they lost at Taunton in 2019 and again failed to beat Essex in last year's Bob Willis Trophy final at Lord's.
Warwickshire are the first side to win the Championship without once posting a 400-plus score.
Their first-innings total of 367 in this game was even bettered by Somerset, who put behind them their own recent string of batting failures to post 389 for a 22-run lead.
But, after finally bowling Somerset out, openers Yates and England's Dom Sibley, who made his second 50 of the match, constructed the Bears' first century opening partnership of the season in Thursday's final session.
And, after resuming on 179-1, Yates went on to reach his fourth Championship ton of the summer as the Bears plundered a further 115 in 15 overs before declaring after just an hour, aided by skipper Will Rhodes (62) and Matt Lamb (27 not out).
Rhodes set a bold declaration target and he was rewarded when the Bears fast bowlers, spearheaded by Woakes, really steamed in - and Somerset folded miserably as the hosts took their catches.
Former England all-rounder Tim Bresnan, twice a title winner before with Yorkshire, Sam Hain, twice, and Yates all took fine catches.
And Norwell removed Steven Davies with a yorker that hit middle and off before Woakes sent fellow England paceman Craig Overton's off stump flying, then did the same to Jack Leach. But it was fittingly captain Rhodes who pouched the final slip catch.
That allowed him to joined the illustrious list of six previous Bears captains - Frank Foster (1914), Tom Dollery (1951), AC Smith (1972), Dermot Reeve (1994 and 1995), Nick Knight (2004) and Jim Troughton (2012) - to have led their team to the title.
