diff --git a/objects/blinds/nemesis.lua b/objects/blinds/nemesis.lua
index 30033e70..45790e20 100644
--- a/objects/blinds/nemesis.lua
+++ b/objects/blinds/nemesis.lua
@@ -28,9 +28,11 @@ MPAPI.Blind({
 		return false
 	end,
 
-	-- Decides whether/what to tell the opponent on a hand played or discard, dispatched via
-	-- MPAPI.calculate_blind from pvp_api/net.lua's playHand/skip routes -- the blind's own
-	-- decision now, not an external hardcoded sync call.
+	-- Decides whether/what to tell the opponent on a hand played or discard, dispatched by
+	-- key from pvp_api/net.lua's playHand/skip routes (sync_pvp_blind) rather than through
+	-- MPAPI.calculate_blind's "currently active blind" lookup -- a skip fires while the
+	-- vanilla small/big blind is still active, so that lookup would miss this blind's
+	-- calculate entirely at the moment a skip happens. The blind's own decision, either way.
 	calculate = function(self, context)
 		if context.hand_played or context.discarded then
 			return {
diff --git a/pvp_api/net.lua b/pvp_api/net.lua
index 084818a3..5bf53474 100644
--- a/pvp_api/net.lua
+++ b/pvp_api/net.lua
@@ -43,6 +43,21 @@ local function gen_seed()
 	return MP.generate_seed()
 end
 
+-- Dispatch the hand_played/discarded display-sync context straight to the nemesis blind
+-- by its stable registered key, instead of MPAPI.calculate_blind's "whatever blind is
+-- currently active" resolution (G.GAME.blind.config.blind in the framework's
+-- api/gamemode/hooks.lua). A skip fires while the ACTIVE blind is still the vanilla
+-- small/big blind being skipped -- bl_mp_nemesis only becomes active once the boss
+-- blind starts -- so gating this on the active blind silently drops the skip's display
+-- sync (and its SFX) until the opponent's first hand of the boss blind, whose payload
+-- still carries the cumulative skip count and fires the SFX there instead, one hand
+-- late (see tests/test_skip_sync.lua). The nemesis blind is registered once at load and
+-- is the only consumer of this context shape, so resolving it directly here is safe.
+local function sync_pvp_blind(context)
+	local nemesis = G.P_BLINDS and G.P_BLINDS["bl_mp_nemesis"]
+	if nemesis and nemesis.calculate then nemesis:calculate(context) end
+end
+
 -- Map each legacy action to its peer broadcast. Anything not listed (lobby/auth/
 -- version/replay-stream actions the API now owns) is silently dropped.
 local ROUTES = {
@@ -75,8 +90,8 @@ local ROUTES = {
 	end,
 	playHand = function(msg)
 		broadcast("pvp_play_hand", { score = msg.score, handsLeft = msg.handsLeft, skips = my_skips(), lives = my_lives() }) -- referee (host-authoritative)
-		-- Display sync is the active blind's own decision now (see objects/blinds/nemesis.lua).
-		MPAPI.calculate_blind({ hand_played = true, score = msg.score, hands_left = msg.handsLeft, skips = my_skips(), lives = my_lives() })
+		-- Display sync via the nemesis blind's own calculate/send (see sync_pvp_blind above).
+		sync_pvp_blind({ hand_played = true, score = msg.score, hands_left = msg.handsLeft, skips = my_skips(), lives = my_lives() })
 		-- Score-bearing RLOG event (Phase 6): this is the only point in the
 		-- codebase where "my own score after playing" is already computed for
 		-- the legacy broadcast, so it doubles as the source for a server-side
@@ -95,8 +110,8 @@ local ROUTES = {
 	end,
 	skip = function(msg)
 		broadcast("pvp_skip", { skips = msg.skips, score = my_score_str(), handsLeft = my_hands(), lives = my_lives() }) -- referee (host-authoritative)
-		-- Display sync is the active blind's own decision now (see objects/blinds/nemesis.lua).
-		MPAPI.calculate_blind({ discarded = true, skips = msg.skips, score = my_score_str(), hands_left = my_hands(), lives = my_lives() })
+		-- Display sync via the nemesis blind's own calculate/send (see sync_pvp_blind above).
+		sync_pvp_blind({ discarded = true, skips = msg.skips, score = my_score_str(), hands_left = my_hands(), lives = my_lives() })
 		-- See playHand's hand_result comment above -- same rationale, for discards.
 		if MP.RLOG then MP.RLOG.record("hand_result", { my_score_str(), my_hands() }) end
 	end,
diff --git a/tests/test_skip_sync.lua b/tests/test_skip_sync.lua
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..263dbe73
--- /dev/null
+++ b/tests/test_skip_sync.lua
@@ -0,0 +1,198 @@
+--[[
+  Opponent-skip sync test (pvp_api/net.lua : sync_pvp_blind, objects/blinds/nemesis.lua).
+
+  Bug: the opponent's "skip" SFX (negative + gong) fired on their FIRST HAND of
+  the PvP (nemesis) blind instead of at the moment they actually skipped.
+
+  Root cause: the display-sync dispatch resolved the blind to sync through via
+  "whatever blind is CURRENTLY ACTIVE" (originally MP.sync_pvp_blind reading
+  G.GAME.blind.config.blind directly; after the MPAPI sync/receive rework,
+  MPAPI.calculate_blind's identical G.GAME.blind.config.blind lookup in the
+  framework's api/gamemode/hooks.lua reproduces the exact same bug). At the
+  moment a skip happens, the active blind is the vanilla small/big blind being
+  skipped -- bl_mp_nemesis only becomes active once the boss blind starts -- so
+  that lookup resolves to a blind with no display-sync calculate, and the sync
+  (and its SFX) is silently dropped. G.GAME.enemy.skips then stays stale until
+  the opponent's first playHand of the boss blind, whose payload still carries
+  the cumulative skip count; receive's stale delta (0 -> N) fires the SFX there
+  instead -- one hand late.
+
+  Fix: pvp_api/net.lua's playHand/skip routes dispatch display sync straight to
+  the nemesis blind by its stable registered key (G.P_BLINDS["bl_mp_nemesis"])
+  instead of through MPAPI.calculate_blind's active-blind resolution, so the
+  sync fires at the real skip moment regardless of which blind is active. This
+  also makes a LATER playHand echo of the same cumulative skips count a no-op
+  reconcile (the delta is already 0), so the SFX plays exactly once per skip.
+
+  Run from the repo root:
+    luajit tests/test_skip_sync.lua
+]]
+
+-- ─── Stub game/framework globals ───────────────────────────────────────────
+
+local play_sound_calls = {}
+function play_sound(name)
+	play_sound_calls[#play_sound_calls + 1] = name
+end
+function sendDebugMessage() end
+function Event(t)
+	return t
+end
+
+SMODS = { Atlas = function() end }
+
+G = {
+	C = { MULTIPLAYER = {} },
+	P_BLINDS = {},
+	E_MANAGER = { add_event = function() end }, -- score easing is cosmetic; not under test
+	GAME = {},
+}
+
+-- Minimal stand-in for MPAPI.Blind / the MPAPI sync mixin (api/synced/objects.lua +
+-- api/synced/core.lua in the BalatroMultiplayerAPI framework): registers the object
+-- under its full key and gives it a :calculate(context) method that wraps the
+-- consumer's own calculate (captured here as _user_calculate, same as the real
+-- mixin) and, if it returns a `send` table, delivers it to the object's own
+-- `receive`. In production that delivery is a network broadcast whose self-echo is
+-- suppressed, so `receive` only ever runs on the RECEIVING (non-sender) client;
+-- calling it directly here is exactly what that receiving peer's client does.
+MPAPI = {
+	Blind = function(def)
+		local key = "bl_mp_" .. def.key
+		local obj = { key = key, _user_calculate = def.calculate, receive = def.receive }
+		function obj:calculate(context)
+			local ret = self._user_calculate and self:_user_calculate(context)
+			if type(ret) == "table" and ret.send ~= nil and self.receive then
+				self:receive({ from = "opponent", data = ret.send })
+			end
+			return ret
+		end
+		G.P_BLINDS[key] = obj
+		return obj
+	end,
+	get_current_lobby = function()
+		return nil -- no real lobby; the referee broadcast in net.lua's routes no-ops
+	end,
+	ActionTypes = {},
+}
+
+MP = {
+	GAME = {
+		enemy = {
+			skips = 0,
+			highest_score = { v = 0 },
+			spent_in_shop = {},
+			lives = 4,
+			hands = 4,
+			info_received = false,
+		},
+		score = { v = 0 },
+		lives = 4,
+		timer_started = false,
+		nemesis_timer_started = false,
+		timer_consumed = false,
+	},
+	LOBBY = { config = { timer = false, timer_increment_seconds = 0 } },
+	UI = {
+		restore_timer = function() end,
+		juice_up_pvp_hud = function() end,
+	},
+	INSANE_INT = {
+		empty = function()
+			return { v = 0 }
+		end,
+		from_string = function(s)
+			return { v = tonumber(s) or 0 }
+		end,
+		to_string = function(v)
+			return tostring(v.v)
+		end,
+		greater_than = function(a, b)
+			return a.v > b.v
+		end,
+		equal = function(a, b)
+			return a.v == b.v
+		end,
+	},
+	is_any_layer_active = function()
+		return false
+	end,
+	is_layer_active = function()
+		return false
+	end,
+	-- Target-candidate gating (pvp_api/lobby_bridge.lua) is orthogonal to the skip-sync
+	-- fix under test; no-op it so `receive` always accepts the stubbed sender.
+	note_target_candidate = function() end,
+	current_target_id = function()
+		return nil
+	end,
+}
+
+dofile("objects/blinds/nemesis.lua")
+assert(G.P_BLINDS["bl_mp_nemesis"], "nemesis blind not registered under 'bl_mp_nemesis'")
+
+dofile("pvp_api/net.lua")
+assert(MP.net_route, "MP.net_route not defined after load")
+
+local failures = 0
+local function check(name, cond)
+	if cond then
+		print("ok   - " .. name)
+	else
+		failures = failures + 1
+		print("FAIL - " .. name)
+	end
+end
+
+local function count_sound(name)
+	local n = 0
+	for _, s in ipairs(play_sound_calls) do
+		if s == name then n = n + 1 end
+	end
+	return n
+end
+
+-- ─── Scenario: opponent skips a VANILLA small/big blind (not the nemesis) ───
+-- This is the exact bug condition: at skip time the currently active blind is
+-- NOT bl_mp_nemesis (it only becomes active once the boss blind starts).
+G.GAME.blind = { config = { blind = { key = "bl_small" } } } -- vanilla blind, no display-sync calculate
+G.GAME.skips = 1
+
+MP.net_route({ action = "skip", skips = 1 })
+
+check("enemy.skips updated at skip time (not deferred to first hand)", MP.GAME.enemy.skips == 1)
+check("skip SFX 'negative' played exactly once", count_sound("negative") == 1)
+check("skip SFX 'gong' played exactly once", count_sound("gong") == 1)
+
+local sfx_count_after_first_skip = #play_sound_calls
+
+-- A second skip (still on a vanilla blind, e.g. the big blind) must reconcile
+-- and play again -- one real skip, one sound, every time.
+G.GAME.blind = { config = { blind = { key = "bl_big" } } }
+G.GAME.skips = 2
+
+MP.net_route({ action = "skip", skips = 2 })
+
+check("second skip updates enemy.skips to 2", MP.GAME.enemy.skips == 2)
+check("second skip plays its own SFX (2 more sounds)", #play_sound_calls == sfx_count_after_first_skip + 2)
+
+local sfx_count_after_second_skip = #play_sound_calls
+
+-- ─── Scenario: opponent reaches the boss blind and plays their first hand ───
+-- playHand's payload still carries the same CUMULATIVE skips count (my_skips(),
+-- read from G.GAME.skips, unchanged at 2). Since enemy.skips was already
+-- reconciled at skip time, this must be a silent, idempotent reconcile -- no
+-- repeat SFX (the double-SFX regression this fix must avoid). Point G.GAME.blind
+-- at the REAL registered nemesis object (as production does -- Balatro/SMODS
+-- reuse one center object per blind key) so this also faithfully models the
+-- active-blind-is-genuinely-nemesis case.
+G.GAME.blind = { config = { blind = G.P_BLINDS["bl_mp_nemesis"] } }
+G.GAME.current_round = { hands_left = 3 }
+
+MP.net_route({ action = "playHand", score = "300", handsLeft = 3 })
+
+check("enemy.skips unchanged by the playHand echo", MP.GAME.enemy.skips == 2)
+check("playHand's stale skips delta plays NO additional SFX", #play_sound_calls == sfx_count_after_second_skip)
+
+if failures > 0 then error(failures .. " check(s) failed") end
+print("\nAll skip-sync checks passed.")