diff --git a/server/src/model/events/eventPublic.model.js b/server/src/model/events/eventPublic.model.js
index 5b5818f..ee070e1 100644
--- a/server/src/model/events/eventPublic.model.js
+++ b/server/src/model/events/eventPublic.model.js
@@ -92,16 +92,22 @@ const isLive = (status) => publicStatus(status) === 'live'
 /**
  * The label of the phase a run is in, resolved from the PINNED version's spec.
  *
- * A phase id is a slug an author typed and the label is what they meant it to
- * read as, so a page rendering the id would show `phase-2` to the public. A
+ * A phase key is a slug an author typed and the label is what they meant it to
+ * read as, so a page rendering the key would show `phase-2` to the public. A
  * phase the spec does not name answers null and the page shows nothing, which is
  * the right answer for a version edited since: the run pinned the old spec and
  * the old spec is what it is executing.
+ *
+ * **A run's `current_phase` is the phase's `key`**, which is what `spec.js`
+ * validates and the engine writes. This matched `id` until RunicNPC stage 9
+ * (D314), so every live run read "Under way" since Events Phase 14a; `id` is
+ * still accepted second, for a spec stored in that older shape.
  */
-function phaseLabel(spec, phaseId) {
-  if (!phaseId || !spec || !Array.isArray(spec.phases)) return null
-  const phase = spec.phases.find((p) => p && p.id === phaseId)
-  return (phase && (phase.label || phase.id)) || null
+function phaseLabel(spec, phaseKey) {
+  if (!phaseKey || !spec || !Array.isArray(spec.phases)) return null
+  const phase =
+    spec.phases.find((p) => p && p.key === phaseKey) || spec.phases.find((p) => p && p.id === phaseKey)
+  return (phase && (phase.label || phase.key || phase.id)) || null
 }
 
 /**
diff --git a/server/test/eventPublic.test.js b/server/test/eventPublic.test.js
index c0437a8..e518205 100644
--- a/server/test/eventPublic.test.js
+++ b/server/test/eventPublic.test.js
@@ -40,8 +40,9 @@ const NOW = new Date('2026-09-01T12:00:00Z')
 const SPEC = {
   schedule: { kind: 'manual' },
   phases: [
-    { id: 'muster', label: 'The muster', steps: [{ id: 's1', action: 'core.announce' }] },
-    { id: 'assault', label: 'The assault', steps: [] },
+    // `key`, as spec.js validates and every stored spec has it (D314).
+    { key: 'muster', label: 'The muster', steps: [{ id: 's1', action: 'core.announce' }] },
+    { key: 'assault', label: 'The assault', steps: [] },
   ],
 }
 
@@ -368,6 +369,24 @@ test('only the live occurrence carries progress, asked for the reader (1.12.0)',
   }
 })
 
+test('phaseLabel finds a phase by key first, still accepts id, and never shows a step', () => {
+  const { phaseLabel } = publicModel
+  // A UO event's shape: keyed phases, steps of UO's actions.
+  const uo = {
+    phases: [
+      { key: 'gather', label: 'The gathering', steps: [{ action: 'uo.creature.spawn' }] },
+      { key: 'siege', label: 'Siege of Yew', steps: [] },
+    ],
+  }
+  assert.equal(phaseLabel(uo, 'gather'), 'The gathering')
+  assert.equal(phaseLabel(uo, 'siege'), 'Siege of Yew')
+  assert.equal(phaseLabel({ phases: [{ id: 'old', label: 'An older shape' }] }, 'old'), 'An older shape')
+  // A key and an id both matching: the key wins, because the key is what the engine writes.
+  assert.equal(phaseLabel({ phases: [{ id: 'x', label: 'By id' }, { key: 'x', label: 'By key' }] }, 'x'), 'By key')
+  assert.equal(phaseLabel(uo, 'nope'), null)
+  assert.equal(phaseLabel(uo, null), null)
+})
+
 test('a phase the pinned version does not name renders nothing rather than an id', async () => {
   store.runs[0].status = 'running'
   store.runs[0].current_phase = 'a-phase-since-renamed'