Meet Joshua Meng
Joshua Meng, known to his online rivals as hyp3rl1nk, is a National Master who has become synonymous with bullet chess. He has built his reputation in the fastest of time controls, pushing his bullet rating to 2676 (2024-08-02). While he is a capable all-rounder, his heart belongs to the one-minute game, where his sharp instincts often outrun his opponents' plans.
Opening Philosophy
Meng's opening choices are as entertaining as they are effective. He is one of the most prolific advocates of the Amar Gambit, playing it as White in over 800 bullet games. He also enjoys the tricky BlackBurne Shilling Gambit and has turned the Sicilian Defense into a personal workshop, particularly the Accelerated Dragon, where he has won 70% of his rapid games in the Exchange Variation.
Rivalries
Every great player needs a great adversary, and for Meng, that role belongs to Kyle Yiwen Wang. Their 200-game rivalry has been brutally close, with Meng winning 92 to 86. He has also enjoyed lopsided success against seanliu425, whom he has beaten 24 times against a single loss, and crazy_davee, who has only managed a single win in 20 meetings.
Fighting Spirit
What truly defines Meng is his refusal to give up. He wins 77% of games where he falls behind on material, and his comeback rate after losing a piece is a remarkable 48%. He also prefers to dictate the tempo: when he delivers the first check, he wins 63% of the time. His longest winning streak was 20 games, and his tilt factor of 10 suggests he knows how to stay collected even when things go wrong.
Meng's white pieces are his comfort zone, where he wins 54.6% of his games, but he keeps black wins at a respectable 49%. He is also a heavy hitter in the endgame, reaching one in 76% of his games, which is a rare trait for a bullet specialist.
Key Numbers
- Longest winning streak: 20
- Longest losing streak: 10
- Comeback rate: 77.06%
- White win rate: 54.61%
- Black win rate: 48.98%
- Queen checks delivered: 3939