diff --git a/packages/playwright-test/src/reporters/base.ts b/packages/playwright-test/src/reporters/base.ts
index 33e384f10c..a8c8688962 100644
--- a/packages/playwright-test/src/reporters/base.ts
+++ b/packages/playwright-test/src/reporters/base.ts
@@ -258,7 +258,9 @@ export class BaseReporter implements ReporterV2 {
   }
 
   private _printMaxFailuresReached() {
-    if (this.config.maxFailures && this._failureCount < this.config.maxFailures)
+    if (!this.config.maxFailures)
+      return;
+    if (this._failureCount < this.config.maxFailures)
       return;
     console.log(colors.yellow(`Testing stopped early after ${this.config.maxFailures} maximum allowed failures.`));
   }