diff --git a/osu.Game.Tests/Beatmaps/Formats/LegacyStoryboardDecoderTest.cs b/osu.Game.Tests/Beatmaps/Formats/LegacyStoryboardDecoderTest.cs
index b36597a949..7bee580863 100644
--- a/osu.Game.Tests/Beatmaps/Formats/LegacyStoryboardDecoderTest.cs
+++ b/osu.Game.Tests/Beatmaps/Formats/LegacyStoryboardDecoderTest.cs
@@ -111,7 +111,7 @@ namespace osu.Game.Tests.Beatmaps.Formats
                 Assert.AreEqual(1500, background.Elements[0].StartTime);
                 Assert.AreEqual(1000, background.Elements[1].StartTime);
 
-                Assert.AreEqual(1000, storyboard.FirstEventTime);
+                Assert.AreEqual(1000, storyboard.EarliestEventTime);
             }
         }
 
diff --git a/osu.Game/Screens/Play/GameplayClockContainer.cs b/osu.Game/Screens/Play/GameplayClockContainer.cs
index 0248432917..ddbb087962 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Screens/Play/GameplayClockContainer.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Screens/Play/GameplayClockContainer.cs
@@ -131,7 +131,9 @@ namespace osu.Game.Screens.Play
 
                 // if a storyboard is present, it may dictate the appropriate start time by having events in negative time space.
                 // this is commonly used to display an intro before the audio track start.
-                startTime = Math.Min(startTime, beatmap.Storyboard.FirstEventTime);
+                double? firstStoryboardEvent = beatmap.Storyboard.EarliestEventTime;
+                if (firstStoryboardEvent != null)
+                    startTime = Math.Min(startTime, firstStoryboardEvent.Value);
 
                 // some beatmaps specify a current lead-in time which should be used instead of the ruleset-provided value when available.
                 // this is not available as an option in the live editor but can still be applied via .osu editing.
diff --git a/osu.Game/Storyboards/Storyboard.cs b/osu.Game/Storyboards/Storyboard.cs
index e0d18eab00..d4ba18d394 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Storyboards/Storyboard.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Storyboards/Storyboard.cs
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.Linq;
+using Microsoft.EntityFrameworkCore.Internal;
 using osu.Framework.Graphics;
 using osu.Framework.Graphics.Sprites;
 using osu.Framework.Graphics.Textures;
@@ -27,7 +28,14 @@ namespace osu.Game.Storyboards
 
         public bool HasDrawable => Layers.Any(l => l.Elements.Any(e => e.IsDrawable));
 
-        public double FirstEventTime => Layers.Min(l => l.Elements.FirstOrDefault()?.StartTime ?? 0);
+        /// <summary>
+        /// Across all layers, find the earliest point in time that a storyboard element exists at.
+        /// Will return null if there are no elements.
+        /// </summary>
+        /// <remarks>
+        /// This iterates all elements and as such should be used sparingly or stored locally.
+        /// </remarks>
+        public double? EarliestEventTime => Layers.SelectMany(l => l.Elements).OrderBy(e => e.StartTime).FirstOrDefault()?.StartTime;
 
         /// <summary>
         /// Depth of the currently front-most storyboard layer, excluding the overlay layer.