2ZYbr
I read your emotional post and decided to share my opinion.
There's a lot to say about offline play, but I won't.
In offline mode, everyone is on equal footing, blah-blah-blah...

The post is normal, not emotional at all. I think the same way. And in my opinion, this topic arose precisely because of offline play. In online mode, no one prevents you from playing on Easy or Whirlwind difficulty, just like in Heroes of Might and Magic III, where people play on Sod and TE.
But for offline play, the decision, in my opinion, is wrong. Although it depends on what goals the organizers are pursuing. If they want to limit the number of participants and organize championships for the chosen few, then yes. If they need mass participation and attracting new players, then the decision is incomprehensible.