Don’t Hate the Player opens with two kids: Emilia and Jack meeting at a game arcade while attending another kid’s birthday party. Jack is entranced by Emilia’s gaming ability, and the two become fast friends meeting up every year at that same kid’s birthday until Jack moves and they’re separated. Emilia is now an overachieving teen, on the hockey team, running for class VP and with a cute guy vying to be her boyfriend. But she’s also secretly a gamer by night, as part of a team of online gamers. Her real life and online world come close to meshing when she gets the chance to play in a gaming competition. She also realizes soon that Jack is on one of the opposing teams.