Understanding StarCraft: Map Control - Page 2

Again, I disagree.

Look at any of the P matchups in SC2. 4 gate is viable in all matchups, and it's the most common in PvP. The winning player never wins because of map control, it's just the player who executes his build better. In PvP the most important part is getting a proxy pylon up and denying your opponent's proxy, not an expansion, not control of possible mining bases, not control of different avenues of movement, and certainly not control of any significant portion of the map.

As for your assertion that a Terran player who all-ins has map control, no, I disagree. There is absolutely nothing that a Zerg player can do to prevent a Terran player from all-inning with all his SCVs after Stim finishes. Only impeccable micro will save the Zerg, and it's because the maps are too small. In BW map control is important here because if a Terran all-ins, the Zerg loses an expo if he's unaware and does not have map awareness or at least some map control. If the Zerg does have map control, an all-in move will fail because the Zerg player has enough time to react.

The only map currently that rewards players for good map control in SC2 is Shakuras. All-ins very rarely work against good Zerg players who value map control here because it actually means something, as opposed to any of the other maps in the pool.

As for Steppes, I disagree with you again. You can literally do anything on that map and win. Map control is moot, all you need to know is a good timing attack. I have never seen a GSL game on that map go beyond 1 base vs 2 base, and almost always the player with the first attack wins. That's not due to superior map control, it's due to the map being so small it only rewards aggression.

The exception was last night, when a poorly executed 4 gate lost to Marineking's marine+tank build. The Toss player should have won but he microed poorly. However, there was no map control to speak of in that game.

Compare all these situations to brood war. The maps are big enough that games routinely go to 3+ bases and we see fights in different areas of the map simultaneously. Greedy players are punished for taking expos when they don't have map control. Spheres of influence are important because it takes time to shift units from one part of the map to another. Expansion trades are common because it's too risky to attempt to defend something in a part of the map you have little control over, where it would be more beneficial instead to simultaneously sabotage your opponent in an area where he is weak.

None of this happens in SC2 right now. None of the maps are big enough for it, and the game mechanics don't help. ZvT is the only matchup where we sometimes see flashes of BW-like map control, like Clide vs Leenock on Shakuras. Clide ultimately lost because he couldn't keep up with Leenock's ability to simultaneously defend his own expansions while denying Clide's own. Leenock had total map control at certain points, despite being threatened by a split down the middle. It was beautiful to watch, unlike most of the 1basing that happens, simply because it actually showcased map control in SC2.