How a Starcraft 2 map can improve players’ chances of winning

How a Starcraft 2 map can improve players’ chances of winning

By Montse Garcia Nov 6, 2013

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Knowledge of maps is essential in the Starcraft 2 universe, influencing not only strategy but the chances of a players victory. This article explores how understanding the effects of a specific Starcraft 2 map can increase a bettor’s chance of winning – and asks current and exStarcraft professionals their opinions.

How a map can affect Starcraft 2 games?

A look into Starcraft 2 history shows that map building has evolved – they are now considerably more balanced than in the early days of Wings of Liberty. While in the early releases arenas like Jungle Basin or the infamous Lost Temple, allowed the Terran to dominate by dropping on the high ground and forcing the Zerg to use a 1 Base Muta tactic to have any chance of dealing with it.

Nevertheless, today’s maps still have certain strategies that are more viable than others, and favour some races over others in certain match-ups. There are several ways in which a map affects the game, typically including the strategy that should be employed. Variables such as the distance between bases or how open the natural is can severely alter the effectivness of differing startegies.

Specific strategies are more viable for certain maps, and favour some races over others

The construction of the main base can also play a role in the dynamics of the game. An example would be Protoss-favouring maps with little or no space behind their base, as it makes them less vulnerable to Terran drops or Muta Harass by the Zerg.

Talking about expansions, it’s important to look at how easy it is for certain races to take and defend them, which is dictated by how an expansion is built, the distance to the main base or the entrance leading to it. For example, Protoss would tend to favour maps where they don’t run into much trouble to take a third base against Terran.

Map & Race relationships

Understanding map and race relationship is vital for Starcraft 2 betting. Zergs like big wide open spaces. Maps with room to move around in their natural and third base – and in general throughout the map – are optimal for this race. They look for maps where bases are far away from each other, which allows Muta Harass against Terran forces be considerably more effective.

The Protoss race prefer very narrow and small hallways and entrances. Small paths around the map and small entrances increase the power of critical Protoss tools such as force fields. They like having their bases close to each other, to make the task of defending them an easier one.

The Terran race is trickier, as they play very differently against Zerg than against Protoss, so a map that is favourable for them in one match-up might not be the best in another. Learning these differences – no matter how small – are very important for esports betting.

How a map affects players’ chances of winning

We asked six current and former Starcraft 2 pro-players – monchi, KnowMe, MaddeLisk, Socke, DarKFoRcE and KrasS – whether if they were playing an evenly-skilled player on a map of their choice: how much would your chances of winning improve?

On average, the Starcraft 2 Pros believe their chances of victory would improve by 6% from 50% to 56%. Therefore a match that hypothetically begins 50/50 can – in the opinion of the players – dramatically change to 56/44 based on the map selected. Therefore knowing which players favour which maps is also vital.

Also worth noting is German Terran Andreas “KrasS” Ullrich’s comment, which was that this edge can be even bigger in certain match-ups. If he could pick the map, he states his TvZ chances of winning against a Zerg of equal skill would improve to a huge 70%.

While certain maps can be considered quite balanced, in general we can affirm that maps are a key factor that affect the way a game plays out. Understanding the elements that could favour a race over another in a particular match-up could help bettors judge the players’ chances of victory more accurately.

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