diff --git a/src/plugins/liveobjects/liveobjects.ts b/src/plugins/liveobjects/liveobjects.ts
index 7a80c2de9..f541a56e0 100644
--- a/src/plugins/liveobjects/liveobjects.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/liveobjects/liveobjects.ts
@@ -8,12 +8,17 @@ import { LiveObject } from './liveobject';
 import { LiveObjectsPool, ROOT_OBJECT_ID } from './liveobjectspool';
 import { StateMessage } from './statemessage';
 import { LiveCounterDataEntry, SyncLiveObjectsDataPool } from './syncliveobjectsdatapool';
-import { DefaultTimeserial } from './timeserial';
+import { DefaultTimeserial, Timeserial } from './timeserial';
 
 enum LiveObjectsEvents {
   SyncCompleted = 'SyncCompleted',
 }
 
+export interface BufferedStateMessage {
+  stateMessage: StateMessage;
+  regionalTimeserial: Timeserial;
+}
+
 export class LiveObjects {
   private _client: BaseClient;
   private _channel: RealtimeChannel;
@@ -25,6 +30,7 @@ export class LiveObjects {
   private _syncInProgress: boolean;
   private _currentSyncId: string | undefined;
   private _currentSyncCursor: string | undefined;
+  private _bufferedStateOperations: BufferedStateMessage[];
 
   constructor(channel: RealtimeChannel) {
     this._channel = channel;
@@ -33,6 +39,7 @@ export class LiveObjects {
     this._liveObjectsPool = new LiveObjectsPool(this);
     this._syncLiveObjectsDataPool = new SyncLiveObjectsDataPool(this);
     this._syncInProgress = true;
+    this._bufferedStateOperations = [];
   }
 
   async getRoot(): Promise<LiveMap> {
@@ -87,8 +94,16 @@ export class LiveObjects {
    */
   handleStateMessages(stateMessages: StateMessage[], msgRegionalTimeserial: string | null | undefined): void {
     const timeserial = DefaultTimeserial.calculateTimeserial(this._client, msgRegionalTimeserial);
+
     if (this._syncInProgress) {
-      // TODO: handle buffering of state messages during SYNC
+      // the client receives state messages in realtime over the channel concurrently with the SYNC sequence,
+      // which means that some of the state messages may already be applied by the realtime in the SYNC sequence once it's ended.
+      // to avoid re-applying those state messages (for example double counting COUNTER_INC operation),
+      // we buffer incoming state operation messsages while SYNC is in progress, and apply them once SYNC has ended.
+      stateMessages.forEach((x) =>
+        this._bufferedStateOperations.push({ stateMessage: x, regionalTimeserial: timeserial }),
+      );
+      return;
     }
 
     this._liveObjectsPool.applyStateMessages(stateMessages, timeserial);
@@ -102,7 +117,7 @@ export class LiveObjects {
       this._client.logger,
       this._client.Logger.LOG_MINOR,
       'LiveObjects.onAttached()',
-      'channel = ' + this._channel.name + ', hasState = ' + hasState,
+      `channel=${this._channel.name}, hasState=${hasState}`,
     );
 
     if (hasState) {
@@ -137,6 +152,8 @@ export class LiveObjects {
   }
 
   private _startNewSync(syncId?: string, syncCursor?: string): void {
+    // need to discard all buffered state operation messages on new sync start
+    this._bufferedStateOperations = [];
     this._syncLiveObjectsDataPool.reset();
     this._currentSyncId = syncId;
     this._currentSyncCursor = syncCursor;
@@ -144,9 +161,11 @@ export class LiveObjects {
   }
 
   private _endSync(): void {
-    // TODO: handle applying buffered state messages when SYNC is finished
-
     this._applySync();
+    // should apply buffered state operations after we applied the SYNC data
+    this._liveObjectsPool.applyBufferedStateMessages(this._bufferedStateOperations);
+
+    this._bufferedStateOperations = [];
     this._syncLiveObjectsDataPool.reset();
     this._currentSyncId = undefined;
     this._currentSyncCursor = undefined;
diff --git a/src/plugins/liveobjects/liveobjectspool.ts b/src/plugins/liveobjects/liveobjectspool.ts
index c1466a8fc..3d41e2e23 100644
--- a/src/plugins/liveobjects/liveobjectspool.ts
+++ b/src/plugins/liveobjects/liveobjectspool.ts
@@ -3,7 +3,7 @@ import type RealtimeChannel from 'common/lib/client/realtimechannel';
 import { LiveCounter } from './livecounter';
 import { LiveMap } from './livemap';
 import { LiveObject } from './liveobject';
-import { LiveObjects } from './liveobjects';
+import { BufferedStateMessage, LiveObjects } from './liveobjects';
 import { ObjectId } from './objectid';
 import { MapSemantics, StateMessage, StateOperation, StateOperationAction } from './statemessage';
 import { DefaultTimeserial, Timeserial } from './timeserial';
@@ -126,6 +126,46 @@ export class LiveObjectsPool {
     }
   }
 
+  applyBufferedStateMessages(bufferedStateMessages: BufferedStateMessage[]): void {
+    // since we receive state operation messages concurrently with the SYNC sequence,
+    // we must determine which operation messages should be applied to the now local copy of the object pool, and the rest will be skipped.
+    // since messages are delivered in regional order to the client, we can inspect the regional timeserial
+    // of each state operation message to know whether it has reached a point in the message stream
+    // that is no longer included in the state object snapshot we received from SYNC sequence.
+    for (const { regionalTimeserial, stateMessage } of bufferedStateMessages) {
+      if (!stateMessage.operation) {
+        this._client.Logger.logAction(
+          this._client.logger,
+          this._client.Logger.LOG_MAJOR,
+          'LiveObjects.LiveObjectsPool.applyBufferedStateMessages()',
+          `state operation message is received without 'operation' field, skipping message; message id: ${stateMessage.id}, channel: ${this._channel.name}`,
+        );
+        continue;
+      }
+
+      const existingObject = this.get(stateMessage.operation.objectId);
+      if (!existingObject) {
+        // for object ids we haven't seen yet we can apply operation immediately
+        this.applyStateMessages([stateMessage], regionalTimeserial);
+        continue;
+      }
+
+      // otherwise we need to compare regional timeserials
+      if (regionalTimeserial.before(existingObject.getRegionalTimeserial())) {
+        // the operation's regional timeserial < the object's timeserial, ignore the operation.
+        this._client.Logger.logAction(
+          this._client.logger,
+          this._client.Logger.LOG_MICRO,
+          'LiveObjects.LiveObjectsPool.applyBufferedStateMessages()',
+          `skipping applying buffered state operation message as existing object has greater regional timeserial: ${existingObject.getRegionalTimeserial().toString()}, than the op: ${regionalTimeserial.toString()}; objectId=${stateMessage.operation.objectId}, message id: ${stateMessage.id}, channel: ${this._channel.name}`,
+        );
+        continue;
+      }
+
+      this.applyStateMessages([stateMessage], regionalTimeserial);
+    }
+  }
+
   private _getInitialPool(): Map<string, LiveObject> {
     const pool = new Map<string, LiveObject>();
     const root = LiveMap.zeroValue(this._liveObjects, ROOT_OBJECT_ID);