diff --git a/engine/client/snd_mem.c b/engine/client/snd_mem.c
index a47be41..377236f 100644
--- a/engine/client/snd_mem.c
+++ b/engine/client/snd_mem.c
@@ -1092,6 +1092,18 @@ static void S_LoadSoundWorker (void *ctx, void *ctxdata, size_t forcedecode, siz
 			}
 		}
 
+		// Q2 player-specific sounds fall back to the male sounds in pak0.pak.
+		// The packed path is sound/player/male/, not players/male/.
+		if (!data && !strncmp(name, "players/", 8))
+		{
+			const char *modelend = strchr(name + 8, '/');
+			if (modelend && modelend[1])
+			{
+				Q_snprintfz(namebuffer, sizeof(namebuffer), "sound/player/male/%s", modelend + 1);
+				data = FS_LoadMallocFile(namebuffer, &filesize);
+			}
+		}
+
 		if (data && !Ruleset_FileLoaded(name, data, filesize))
 		{
 			BZ_Free(data);