West Ham turned on the style in the first half to secure a 3-1 victory over relegation-rivals Watford to all but seal their Premier League status for next season
The Hammers - who started the day level on points with Watford, three above the relegation zone - burst out of the traps, stunning the visitors as goals from Michail Antonio (6) and Tomas Soucek (10) saw them race into the lead, before Declan Rice's stunning strike (36) extended that advantage before half time
Troy Deeney pulled a goal back for the visitors four minutes after the break but West Ham saw off an improved Watford display in the second half to hold on for a crucial win
Victory sees David Moyes' side, who have a better goal difference than all of their relegation rivals, move six points above the drop zone with just two games remaining
They also move up to 15th, above Brighton on goal difference and three points ahead of Watford, who stay just three points clear of the bottom three with games against Manchester City and Arsenal left to play
No side have been six points clear with two games to go and been relegated
With both sides locked on 34 points and three above the drop zone ahead of kick, the match was billed as somewhat of a relegation cup final, but there were no cup final nerves from West Ham
The Hammers took a sixth-minute lead when Pablo Fornals' deflected pass found the in-form Antonio, who made no mistake firing through the legs of Ben Foster and into the back of the net for his seventh goal since the resumption of the Premier League in June
Less than five minutes later, Watford's task was made even harder
 Pearson's side were given a mountain to climb when Soucek emphatically headed home Jarrod Bowen's inch-perfect cross
West Ham were in dreamland when Rice's superb 33-yard strike left Foster rooted to the spot and curled into the far corner to give the Hammers a three-goal advantage going into the second half
Pearson, who would have expected a response from his side following their poor first-half performance, sent out his side early for the second half and they started brightly, Christian Kabasele glancing a header just wide after Will Hughes' corner
They were eventually rewarded when Deeney reduced the deficit in the 49th minute
 It was a slick break from the visitors as Abdoulaye Doucoure drove down the left before going for goal, but his strike rebounded off the post and into the path of the captain who tapped home to hand his side a lifeline
The momentum had seemingly shifted towards Watford, but Deeney's exit due to trouble with a long-standing knee problem in the 67th minute was a big blow to the visitors' chances
West Ham substitute Sebastien Haller almost made the three points safe with his first touch, but Foster, scrambling back to his goal, somehow manged to get a touch to the ball to divert it inches wide
Watford had one final chance to pile the pressure on the hosts in the final 10 minutes but Danny Welbeck couldn't turn home the impressive Ismaila Sarr's dangerous cross as the Hammers held on for a vital three points
Speaking on the , the pundit pinpointed Watford's full-backs as the culprits for a poor first-half showing
"I was really disappointed with Watford's defending, particularly the two full-backs, and the back five as a whole
 The two full-backs, Masina and Femenia, well, from the very first minute you talk about making sure you're in control of your opponent
 I was worried about West Ham's full-backs tonight, Cresswell and Ben Johnson up against Welbeck and Sarr, but they handled it well
 At the other end, Fornals and Bowen could do what they want
"There was no intensity in the defending, and you think of Nigel Pearson, he'll have hated watching that first half, and the performance of the full-backs did cost them the game
 It was really poor
On Ismaïia Sarr: "He's a big, big talent, he really is
 We've seen his performances before, and he was a shining light for Watford
 When they did attack it was through him
 He will be sought-after, and Watford I'm sure will cash in if they get the right bid
" speaking on 
"Tonight is massive
 The lads knew before the game, we've had a week to prepare, the fans were nervous, and I'm so glad we can give them the three points
"In the warm-up I scored two bangers! Lads tell me to shoot more in training
 Goals are something I need to add to my game
 when I saw it hit the back of the net it was a great feeling
"West Ham boss : "We started the game brilliantly, the goals we scored were terrific, and we gave each other a real chance
 Tonight we stood up to everything we got, our first-half performance was excellent and so was the second half defensively
Watford boss"First half we let the game pass us by
 We had passengers which is disappointing at this stage of the season
 The second-half performance was much improved - very competitive
 It's annoying
 Very disappointing
 It means now we have got to find another one or two good results
"There's no getting away from the fact this result is bitterly disappointing
 I'd expect better from our players - that's not to say everybody
 What I say stays in the dressing room
 It's not self preservation, it's making sure we take responsibility
 We didn't in the first half, we did in the second half
"It's a really poor result for us
 It's a case of finding solutions
 I'll look at it again and players will get honest feedback
 There isn't time to dwell on it
 The players will go home tonight and think 'wow we've let that one drift past us'
 It wasn't good enough
"' : "I'm going with Ogbonna
 He's been excellent at left centre back
 His defending has been really good all night
 There's a smile on his face, he knows he's done his job for West Ham
"West Ham now go to Manchester United on Wednesday, live on Sky Sports at 6pm, before hosting Aston Villa on the final day of the season on Sunday at 4pm
Watford host Manchester City on Tuesday, live on Sky Sports at 6pm, and go to Arsenal on the final day of the Premier League season on Sunday at 4pm
 Brighton vs Newcastle - 6pm,  Watford vs Manchester City - 6pm,  Aston Villa vs Arsenal - 8
15pm,  Manchester United vs West Ham - 6pm, Arsenal vs Watford - 4pm, TV details to be confirmedBurnley vs Brighton - 4pm, TV details to be confirmedEverton vs Bournemouth - 4pm, TV details to be confirmedWest Ham vs Aston Villa - 4pm, TV details to be confirmed