The First Tournament for Heroes of Might and Magic II.

If you wish, we can discuss the tournament itself, the walkthrough of the map, and share suggestions for the future.

It's a pity I couldn't send the save files. But I hope you'll believe me.
So, the choice of hero is obvious: the Barbarian - Thundax. The reason is simple - shooting skills level up quickly, which allows you to break through archers with 15 Nomads and Elves on day 5. Of all the Barbarians, only 2 were suitable for the chosen tactic; I chose a male hero. Also, 4 heroes were hired to level up the Finance skill. I don't remember all their names, but I definitely remember Natasha and some other "Fe...". This made it possible for the main hero to collect experience from treasure chests.
The walkthrough itself came down to collecting gold and resources in the center of the map. For this, all the heroes traveled with 1 Nomad.
On the third week, the center of the map was successfully looted, and three heroes with the Navigation skill went to the sea.
The final army consisted only of troops from the native castle: 7 Phoenixes, etc. It is important to note that I initially collected Gnomes from the hired heroes.
The hero's level is also the same as the tournament winner's - 12, but I immediately sent him to study Logistics, which ultimately made it possible to obtain advanced magic, which means level 4 spells. I built magic in the castle of the nearest companion. In addition, at the very end of the game, with Phoenixes and archers, I captured the Helmet of Anduran! Magic power became 10! True, there was only 40 mana, I didn't have time to return to the well.
The map was good, but it seems that for an arena tournament, it was necessary to either add a few more weeks for collecting troops or slightly weaken the guard of the neutral castles.