[bonsaitree]

"Spam" is done as part of warming-up during pre-game chat and during approximately the first 10s of most builds.

These players aren't spamming. They're selecting individual unit abilities within multiple control groups and switching off the membership of said groups in real-time.

That documentary clip is somewhat misleading. Some very strategic top-level Starcraft players with excellent micro-control can have as low as 200-250 APM. Some macro-oriented players such as Bisu ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kim_Taek-Yong ) have ~420 APM.

Though APM is a datum which has grown during the evolution of the game, Flash ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lee_Young-Ho ) ,the current highest ranked Starcraft player in the world, only has "average" APM for a pro gamer.

At the pro level, success is less about "action volume" and more about which actions one chooses to take.