diff --git a/src/ops/agg_engine.c b/src/ops/agg_engine.c
index e030b13c..8f414c61 100644
--- a/src/ops/agg_engine.c
+++ b/src/ops/agg_engine.c
@@ -3724,20 +3724,91 @@ agg_radix_select_topn(ray_pool_t* pool, const agg_radix_part_t* parts, uint32_t
     int64_t kept = 0;
     for (uint32_t p = 0; p < n_parts; p++) kept += c.kept[p];
     ray_free_raw(cand); ray_free_raw(cand_n);
-    agg_radix_order_t* sel = ray_alloc_raw((size_t)(kept > 0 ? kept : 1) * sizeof(agg_radix_order_t));
-    int64_t* fr = ray_alloc_raw((size_t)(kept > 0 ? kept : 1) * sizeof(int64_t));
+    /* The kept set is every group at or beyond the threshold.  Groups
+     * strictly beyond it number fewer than N by construction, but the groups
+     * AT the threshold can be nearly all of them — a count-per-group top-10
+     * over a near-unique key has a threshold of 1 and every group ties it —
+     * and sorting that set is a comparison sort over the whole grouping.
+     * The emitted prefix is the tied groups' first-seen order, so only the
+     * N tied groups with the smallest first_row can ever be taken: keep
+     * exactly those, through a bounded max-heap, and the sort below runs
+     * over at most 2N entries.  Without a threshold every group is kept
+     * (the take exceeds the group count) and the set is small anyway. */
+    int64_t take = c.have_thr ? ef->top_count_take : 0;
+    int64_t sel_cap = c.have_thr ? 2 * take : kept;
+    if (sel_cap <= 0) sel_cap = 1;
+    agg_radix_order_t* sel = ray_alloc_raw((size_t)sel_cap * sizeof(agg_radix_order_t));
+    int64_t* fr = ray_alloc_raw((size_t)sel_cap * sizeof(int64_t));
     if (!sel || !fr) {
         ray_free_raw(sel); ray_free_raw(fr);
         ray_free_raw(base); ray_free_raw(vals); ray_free_raw(keep); *rc = 1; return NULL;
     }
     int64_t k = 0;
-    for (uint32_t p = 0; p < n_parts; p++)
-        for (int64_t gg = 0; gg < parts[p].ng; gg++)
-            if (keep[base[p] + gg]) {
-                sel[k].idx = ((int64_t)p << 32) | (uint32_t)gg;
-                fr[k] = parts[p].first_row[gg];
-                k++;
+    if (!c.have_thr) {
+        for (uint32_t p = 0; p < n_parts; p++)
+            for (int64_t gg = 0; gg < parts[p].ng; gg++)
+                if (keep[base[p] + gg]) {
+                    sel[k].idx = ((int64_t)p << 32) | (uint32_t)gg;
+                    fr[k] = parts[p].first_row[gg];
+                    k++;
+                }
+    } else {
+        /* strict groups fill sel[0..k); the tied heap lives in sel[take..) */
+        agg_radix_order_t* hp = sel + take;
+        int64_t* hk = fr + take;
+        int64_t hn = 0;
+        bool overflow = false;
+        for (uint32_t p = 0; p < n_parts && !overflow; p++) {
+            const double* pv = vals + base[p];
+            const uint8_t* pk = keep + base[p];
+            const int64_t* pfr = parts[p].first_row;
+            for (int64_t gg = 0; gg < parts[p].ng; gg++) {
+                if (!pk[gg]) continue;
+                int64_t payload = ((int64_t)p << 32) | (uint32_t)gg;
+                if (pv[gg] != c.thr) {
+                    if (k >= take) { overflow = true; break; }
+                    sel[k].idx = payload; fr[k] = pfr[gg]; k++;
+                    continue;
+                }
+                int64_t first = pfr[gg];
+                if (hn < take) {
+                    int64_t i = hn++;
+                    hk[i] = first; hp[i].idx = payload;
+                    while (i > 0) {                       /* sift up */
+                        int64_t par = (i - 1) / 2;
+                        if (hk[par] >= hk[i]) break;
+                        int64_t tk = hk[par]; hk[par] = hk[i]; hk[i] = tk;
+                        int64_t tp = hp[par].idx; hp[par].idx = hp[i].idx; hp[i].idx = tp;
+                        i = par;
+                    }
+                } else if (first < hk[0]) {
+                    hk[0] = first; hp[0].idx = payload;
+                    int64_t i = 0;
+                    for (;;) {                            /* sift down */
+                        int64_t l = 2 * i + 1, r = l + 1, m = i;
+                        if (l < take && hk[l] > hk[m]) m = l;
+                        if (r < take && hk[r] > hk[m]) m = r;
+                        if (m == i) break;
+                        int64_t tk = hk[m]; hk[m] = hk[i]; hk[i] = tk;
+                        int64_t tp = hp[m].idx; hp[m].idx = hp[i].idx; hp[i].idx = tp;
+                        i = m;
+                    }
+                }
             }
+        }
+        if (overflow) {
+            /* more than N groups beyond the threshold: not a threshold this
+             * selection understands — let the caller take the full path */
+            ray_free_raw(sel); ray_free_raw(fr);
+            ray_free_raw(base); ray_free_raw(vals); ray_free_raw(keep); *rc = 2; return NULL;
+        }
+        /* close the gap between the strict prefix and the tied heap */
+        if (k < take) {
+            memmove(sel + k, hp, (size_t)hn * sizeof(agg_radix_order_t));
+            memmove(fr + k, hk, (size_t)hn * sizeof(int64_t));
+        }
+        k += hn;
+    }
     agg_sort_pairs_by_key(sel, fr, k);
     ray_free_raw(fr); ray_free_raw(base); ray_free_raw(vals); ray_free_raw(keep);
     *n_emit = k;
diff --git a/test/rfl/group/emit_filter_v2_route.rfl b/test/rfl/group/emit_filter_v2_route.rfl
index 54447a99..41a1ba01 100644
--- a/test/rfl/group/emit_filter_v2_route.rfl
+++ b/test/rfl/group/emit_filter_v2_route.rfl
@@ -109,3 +109,28 @@
 (set nested2 (select {from: (select {from: (select {from: tz by: k c: (count v)}) by: c n: (count c)}) where: (> n 100)}))
 (count nested2) -- 1
 (at (at nested2 'n) 0) -- 1000
+
+;; a threshold that every group ties: a near-unique two-key grouping where
+;; almost every count is 1, so the N-th largest count is 1 and the kept set
+;; would be the whole grouping.  The result is still the first N tied groups
+;; in first-seen order, and the selection must not scale with the group count.
+(set n9 300000)
+(set i9 (til n9))
+(set a9 (as 'I64 (+ (* i9 2654435761) (% (* i9 7) 3))))
+(set b9 (as 'I64 (% (* i9 40503) 150000)))
+(set t9 (table [a b v] (list a9 b9 (% i9 5))))
+(set r9 (select {from: t9 by: [a b] c: (count v) s: (sum v) desc: c take: 10}))
+(set f9 (select {from: t9 by: [a b] c: (count v) s: (sum v)}))
+(count r9) -- 10
+(all (>= (at r9 'c) (at (at (xdesc f9 'c) 'c) 9))) -- true
+(== (sum (at r9 'c)) (sum (take (at (xdesc f9 'c) 'c) 10))) -- true
+(all (== (at r9 'a) (take (at (select {from: f9 where: (== c (max c))}) 'a) 10))) -- true
+(all (== (at r9 's) (take (at (select {from: f9 where: (== c (max c))}) 's) 10))) -- true
+;; the same shape under a row selection
+(set r9w (select {from: t9 by: [a b] c: (count v) desc: c take: 10 where: (!= v 0)}))
+(set f9w (select {from: t9 by: [a b] c: (count v) where: (!= v 0)}))
+(count r9w) -- 10
+(all (== (at r9w 'a) (take (at (select {from: f9w where: (== c (max c))}) 'a) 10))) -- true
+;; ascending: the smallest counts, again first-seen among the ties
+(set r9a (select {from: t9 by: [a b] c: (count v) asc: c take: 10}))
+(all (== (at r9a 'a) (take (at (select {from: f9 where: (== c (min c))}) 'a) 10))) -- true
diff --git a/test/test_agg_contract.c b/test/test_agg_contract.c
index c05e53ea..2134755c 100644
--- a/test/test_agg_contract.c
+++ b/test/test_agg_contract.c
@@ -1815,9 +1815,11 @@ static test_result_t test_radix_native_topn(void) {
     TEST_ASSERT_EQ_I(stats.routes[AGG_ROUTE_LEGACY], 0);
     TEST_ASSERT_EQ_I(stats.routes[AGG_ROUTE_V2_RADIX], 1);
     TEST_ASSERT_TRUE(stats.topn_native);
-    /* counts are 1 or 2: the top-10 superset is every count-2 group (500,000
-     * of 1,500,000), not the full group set */
-    TEST_ASSERT_EQ_I(stats.topn_kept, 500000);
+    /* counts are 1 or 2, so the threshold is 2 and every count-2 group
+     * (500,000 of 1,500,000) ties it: the selection keeps the ten of them
+     * with the smallest first row — the ones the emitted first-seen order
+     * would take — not the whole tie set */
+    TEST_ASSERT_EQ_I(stats.topn_kept, 10);
     TEST_ASSERT_EQ_I(ray_table_nrows(r), 10);
     ray_t* check = ray_eval_str(
         "(== (at (at (select {from:rt_t by:[k j] c:(count v) desc:c take:10}) 'c) 0) "