There is, of course, no balance in random events (it's a bit better in TE, but still not enough, it needs further refinement). However, almost the same people keep winning.

I just finished a tournament. In none of the games did it even come to a point where we had to fight to the bitter end; everything was decided in the second week. Yes, I got lucky – either with the map layout or with my opponent's actions, but it keeps happening like this, and it's been going on for years. And I seem to be "unlucky" only in games against top players – the map layout is terrible, my opponent has everything going for them, and I'm just slow and sluggish, etc.

It's not offensive to lose in a close fight, but when you struggle and struggle, build a huge army, and then its most powerful units are wiped out by 2-3 spells because some weak unit happened to be close to someone and got a little boost to its magic power... that's not just bad luck, it's a flaw in the rules, in my opinion. And read the reports carefully – it's not always that people blame bad luck for their losses; often, they look at their own actions. However, the fact that luck often plays a role is undeniable, and it needs to be balanced somehow, either through the rules or something else. And, by the way, I don't know about other places, but here, "top" players don't always win, surprisingly. Sometimes they lose to players who are much lower in the rankings, and there are real reasons for that. For example, I've played against the same people and won and lost, and in both cases, I acknowledge the element of luck/bad luck. And in general, I doubt your words and hints that the same people always win and the others are just making excuses. It's much more complicated; skill definitely matters, but it's not everything.
P.S. Crushing an opponent in the second week is almost like Starcraft, and it's not for everyone...

Added 6 minutes later

Come on... If you ban everything that can lead to losing a winning game, what's left? You can lose because of Armageddon with Phoenixes, because of Angel Wings in the Necropolis, etc. Well, that's just the nature of the game, guys.

P.S. If your opponent finds a "chupa-chups" (a lollipop), just be happy for them and that's it :)

Then let's cancel all the bans and really start crushing opponents with Deemons and Soul Eaters in the second week. I'm not saying that everything can be foreseen, but some things that give too much of an advantage should be limited. IMO.