No, the players are not stuck inside the gaming world. Nor is there permanent death of players. The World of Eternia is a litrpg genre story where in-game events have real life consequences, just like in the Hollywood film, "Tron."
The Match is Book 2 in the World of Eternia series, but may be read as a stand-alone book. Book 1, The Prize, focuses on a group of players called "The Strangers," and their adventures inside the virtual reality based fantasy gaming world, World of Eternia. The Match offers a peek behind the curtains, and focuses on two ruthless company heads and their machinations to move their respective gaming companies forward. Their bitter rivalry finally comes to a head when one decides to challenge the other to a public match, with control of their respective companies as the ultimate prize!
World of Eternia: The Match offers 91,000 words filled with role playing game action, corporate espionage, and characters of questionable ethics and morals.