Start with the red-and-colour sequence
WPBSA’s rulebook sets out reds and colours with their point values and the alternating scoring pattern. Potting a colour as the colour after a red does not ordinarily mean it is permanently removed for the rest of the frame.
For viewing, identify what ball is on before judging a respot. A short break clip can begin midway through the pattern. A black returning to its spot is not automatically a replayed shot or a score being reversed.
The last red still has its following colour
Imagine the final red is potted and the striker chooses black as the following colour. After that colour’s treatment under the rules, the ordered colour clearance begins with yellow. The player does not simply continue alternating with nonexistent reds.
These are hypothetical ordinary-play conditions. Fouls, free-ball situations and spotting problems require the actual rules. The example explains the phase transition rather than resolving every unusual table state from one camera view.
The clearance has a defined order
The normal final colour sequence is yellow, green, brown, blue, pink and black. Their values rise from two through seven. Potting these as the ordered clearance differs from taking a chosen colour after a red.
This is why a yellow or blue disappearing late can be expected while the same ball was respotted earlier. A broadcast cutting away between phases may hide that context. Recover remaining reds and the actual ball on when it returns.
The final colours’ ordinary values sum to 27: two plus three plus four plus five plus six plus seven. That total helps interpret a points-remaining discussion after the red phase. It is not the value of every colour visit earlier in the frame, when selected colours had different sequencing and respotting treatment.
Points and frame result remain separate
A final clearance can secure the frame, but the overall match still depends on frames won. A high break is another statistic again. The linked scoring-units article explains why a spectacular visit does not automatically win the whole match.
Choose full-frame coverage if the sequence matters; a pot compilation may omit safety exchanges and spotting. This article uses WPBSA rules and an ordinary hypothetical sequence, with no Canadian rights, IPTV Canada inclusion or tested-playback claim.
Related questions
Should every potted colour always be respotted?
No. Its role in the red/colour phase or final clearance matters.
What starts the ordinary final colour clearance?
Yellow, followed by the other colours in the prescribed order.
Sources and scope
Scope notes distinguish published documentation, supplied information and editorial methods. They do not report a hands-on service test.
- WPBSAcurrentrulebook — Red/colouralternation values andorderedclearance
- WPBSAruleshub — Currentversion confirmation
