diff --git a/app/modules/tournament-map-list-generator/balanced-map-list.ts b/app/modules/tournament-map-list-generator/balanced-map-list.ts
index 56fda2407..43e0fcdb4 100644
--- a/app/modules/tournament-map-list-generator/balanced-map-list.ts
+++ b/app/modules/tournament-map-list-generator/balanced-map-list.ts
@@ -55,7 +55,11 @@ function generateWithInput(
 	if (validationError) return err(validationError);
 
 	const { seededShuffle } = seededRandom(input.seed);
-	const stages = seededShuffle(resolveCommonStages());
+	// trying the least recently played maps first lets the search find a good
+	// enough list before the recursion depth cap is hit
+	const stages = seededShuffle(resolveCommonStages()).sort(
+		(a, b) => recencyPenalty(a) - recencyPenalty(b),
+	);
 	const mapList: Array<ModeWithStageAndScore & { score: number }> = [];
 	const bestMapList: { maps?: Array<ModeWithStageAndScore>; score: number } = {
 		score: Number.POSITIVE_INFINITY,
@@ -108,10 +112,12 @@ function generateWithInput(
 		return true;
 	};
 
-	const success = backtrack();
+	const searchExhausted = backtrack();
 
-	if (!success) return err("MAX_RECURSION_DEPTH_EXCEEDED");
+	// a complete list found before the depth cap was hit is still valid,
+	// only its optimality is unproven
 	if (bestMapList.maps) return ok(bestMapList.maps);
+	if (!searchExhausted) return err("MAX_RECURSION_DEPTH_EXCEEDED");
 
 	return err("COULD_NOT_GENERATE_MAPLIST");
 
@@ -435,26 +441,24 @@ function generateWithInput(
 			score += 100;
 		}
 
-		if (input.recentlyPlayedMaps) {
-			for (const map of mapList) {
-				const recentIndex = input.recentlyPlayedMaps.findIndex(
-					(recent) =>
-						recent.stageId === map.stageId && recent.mode === map.mode,
-				);
-
-				if (recentIndex !== -1) {
-					const recencyPenalty = Math.max(
-						10 - Math.floor(recentIndex / 2) * 2,
-						0,
-					);
-					score += recencyPenalty;
-				}
-			}
+		for (const map of mapList) {
+			score += recencyPenalty(map);
 		}
 
 		return score;
 	}
 
+	function recencyPenalty(map: Pick<TournamentMapListMap, "stageId" | "mode">) {
+		if (!input.recentlyPlayedMaps) return 0;
+
+		const recentIndex = input.recentlyPlayedMaps.findIndex(
+			(recent) => recent.stageId === map.stageId && recent.mode === map.mode,
+		);
+		if (recentIndex === -1) return 0;
+
+		return Math.max(10 - Math.floor(recentIndex / 2) * 2, 0);
+	}
+
 	function lastMapIsAGoodTieBreaker() {
 		// guaranteed to be good if more than one mode
 		if (!tournamentIsOneModeOnly()) return true;
diff --git a/app/modules/tournament-map-list-generator/generation.test.ts b/app/modules/tournament-map-list-generator/generation.test.ts
index 5b60264f6..9b75267eb 100644
--- a/app/modules/tournament-map-list-generator/generation.test.ts
+++ b/app/modules/tournament-map-list-generator/generation.test.ts
@@ -798,6 +798,46 @@ describe("TournamentMapListGeneratorOneMode", () => {
 });
 
 describe("Recently played maps", () => {
+	test("One mode Bo7 avoids recently played maps when a full avoiding list exists", () => {
+		const team1Pool = new MapPool(
+			([1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6] as const).map((stageId) => ({
+				mode: "SZ" as const,
+				stageId,
+			})),
+		);
+		const team2Pool = new MapPool(
+			([7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12] as const).map((stageId) => ({
+				mode: "SZ" as const,
+				stageId,
+			})),
+		);
+		// the bo5 both teams played right before this match
+		const recentlyPlayedMaps = ([1, 7, 2, 8, 3] as const).map((stageId) => ({
+			mode: "SZ" as const,
+			stageId,
+		}));
+
+		const mapList = generateMaps({
+			count: 7,
+			seed: "1000",
+			teams: [
+				{ id: 1, maps: team1Pool },
+				{ id: 2, maps: team2Pool },
+			],
+			tiebreakerMaps: new MapPool([]),
+			modesIncluded: ["SZ"],
+			recentlyPlayedMaps,
+		});
+
+		const recentMapsInList = mapList.filter((map) =>
+			recentlyPlayedMaps.some(
+				(recent) => recent.mode === map.mode && recent.stageId === map.stageId,
+			),
+		);
+
+		expect(recentMapsInList).toEqual([]);
+	});
+
 	test("Avoids recently played maps when possible", () => {
 		const recentlyPlayedMaps = [
 			{ mode: "SZ" as const, stageId: 4 as const },