diff --git a/osu.Game/Beatmaps/Formats/LegacyStoryboardDecoder.cs b/osu.Game/Beatmaps/Formats/LegacyStoryboardDecoder.cs
index b8f60f0bc6..4d407bb5f0 100644
--- a/osu.Game/Beatmaps/Formats/LegacyStoryboardDecoder.cs
+++ b/osu.Game/Beatmaps/Formats/LegacyStoryboardDecoder.cs
@@ -79,6 +79,8 @@ namespace osu.Game.Beatmaps.Formats
 
         private void handleEvents(string line)
         {
+            decodeVariables(ref line);
+
             int depth = 0;
 
             foreach (char c in line)
@@ -91,8 +93,6 @@ namespace osu.Game.Beatmaps.Formats
 
             line = line.Substring(depth);
 
-            decodeVariables(ref line);
-
             string[] split = line.Split(',');
 
             if (depth == 0)