ɪnðə kwˈɔlᵻfˌaɪɪŋ ɹˈaʊnd fɚðə nˈaɪntiːnhˈʌndɹɪd sˈɛvənti sˈɛvən wˈɜːld tʃˈæmpiənʃˌɪp, ɹˈiə lˈʊkt æz ɪf hiː mˌaɪt kˈɔːz ɐn ˈʌpsɛt wɛn hiː lˈɛd dˈʌɡ mˈaʊntdʒɔɪ, æt ðə tˈaɪm bˈɛnsən ænd hˈɛdʒᵻz mˈæstɚz tʃˈæmpiən, ˈeɪt sˈɪks ænd nˈaɪn ˈeɪt.
In the qualifying round for the 1977 World Championship, Rea looked as if he might cause an upset when he led Doug Mountjoy, at the time Benson and Hedges Masters Champion, 8–6 and 9–8.