The 2013 Football League Championship play-off final was an association football match which was played on 27 May 2013 at Wembley Stadium, London, between Crystal Palace and Watford. The match was to determine the third and final team to gain promotion from the Football League Championship, the second tier of English football, to the Premier League. The top two teams of the 2012–13 Football League Championship season gained automatic promotion to the Premier League, while the teams placed from third to sixth place in the table partook in play-off semi-finals; Watford ended the season in third position while Crystal Palace finished fifth. The winners of these semi-finals competed for the final place for the 2013–14 season in the Premier League. Winning the game was estimated to be worth up to £120 million to the successful team.

The 2013 final, refereed by Martin Atkinson, was watched by a crowd of more than 82,000 people. The game ended goalless in regular time, and proceeded into extra time. Crystal Palace won 1–0, with the only goal of the game coming from Kevin Phillips in the last minute of the first half of extra time from the penalty spot. It was Palace's fourth win in five play-off finals. Wilfried Zaha was named man of the match.

Both teams finished mid-table in their respective leagues the following season. Crystal Palace ended the next season in 11th place in the Premier League, while Watford finished their following campaign in the Championship 13th place.

Watford finished the regular 2012–13 season in third place in the Football League Championship, the second tier of the English football league system, two places ahead of Crystal Palace. Both therefore missed out on the two automatic places for promotion to the Premier League and instead took part in the play-offs to determine the third promoted team. Watford finished two points behind Hull City (who were promoted in second place) and ten behind league winners Cardiff City. Crystal Palace ended the season five points behind Watford.

Crystal Palace faced Brighton & Hove Albion in their play-off semi-final, the first leg being played at Selhurst Park. The game ended goalless but Palace's top scorer Glenn Murray was injured and had to be carried off on a stretcher midway through the second half after suffering what was suspected to be a cruciate ligament injury. The second leg was held three days later at Falmer Stadium, a venue at which Brighton had not lost since January. Palace went into the match having won once in their past eleven games and, as expected, without Murray. He was replaced by Aaron Wilbraham who had scored once in his 25 appearances that season. Wilfried Zaha put Palace ahead midway through the second half with a header from Yannick Bolasie and double their advantage late in the game, striking the ball into the roof of the net. The 2–0 aggregate win ensured the London club's qualification for the final.

In the other play-off semi-final, Watford's opponents were Leicester City, and the first leg was played at the King Power Stadium. The hosts won the match 1–0 with a David Nugent header from an Anthony Knockaert free kick late on. In the second leg, Matěj Vydra, recently named the Championship Player of the Year at the Football League Awards, put Watford into the lead with a left-foot volley from a Marco Cassetti pass into the far corner of Kasper Schmeichel's goal. Nugent restored parity in the leg with another header from a Knockaert corner, before Vydra played a one-two with Troy Deeney to score his second and equalise the semi-final 2–2 on aggregate. Leicester were awarded an injury time penalty: Knockaert stepped up to take it only to see it saved, and in the immediate counter-attack, Jonathan Hogg's knock-down was finished by Deeney to give Watford a 3–2 aggregate victory and passage to the final.

This was Crystal Palace's fifth appearance in the second tier play-off final, with their most recent being in the 2004 final at the Millennium Stadium which they won 1–0 against West Ham United. Palace had also won the 1989 final (over two legs) and the 1997 final, and had lost the 1996 final. Watford also had play-off final experience, winning both their previous appearances, in the 1999 and 2006 finals. During the regular season, Crystal Palace lost their home game against 3–2 in August 2012 in what was Gianfranco Zola's first league match as manager of Watford. The return game played at Vicarage Road the following February ended in a 2–2 draw. Murray was Palace's top scorer with 30 while Vydra had scored the most for Watford with 22.

Both clubs sold out their allocation of tickets at Wembley Stadium, with Palace selling 33,000 tickets and Watford more than 34,000. The final was refereed by Martin Atkinson of the West Riding County Football Association, with assistant referees Stuart Burt and Peter Kirkup, while Neil Swarbrick acted as the fourth official. It was reported in the press and media that the match was worth more than £120 million over four years to the winning club through sponsorship and television appearances.