Club championship of the CIS countries.

By the way, it's not too late yet; I think Michurinsk can easily handle organizing the championship.
And regarding Nag, I agree with you on some points. Eric, you really are one of the most respected people in the Heroes community. Stop being so modest. Be more decisive. Say it and stick to it. Then, various kings and captains won't undermine your ideas.

I hope that this is exactly why I earned my reputation in our community – because I always try to keep my word.
If I had immediately stated in the first post that I would make all the decisions, that the final would be in Michurinsk, etc., the tournament wouldn't have gained as much traction. The people on the Portal, veterans of the St. Petersburg tournaments, old league players, and even new players, wouldn't have been too happy with such an overconfident post. Look at the current reaction to Captain's posts.

In the beginning, in 2008, on our forum, I didn't always consult with the players as much when pushing ideas. There were very few players then, and we didn't have much experience. There were about ten of us, and we would discuss the problem during the day on ICQ and make a decision right away. And we were all ideologically very close to each other.

Now we have a large forum, many strong players, and they are all very different. If I continue to use the old methods, I will look foolish.
I believe that I did everything right with the club championship. The idea resonated with everyone, and all those who could participate did so, and the competition was excellent.
The vote for the location was also fair – everyone justified their opinion on the forum.

Basically, all that remained was to finalize the vote on the templates and announce the results. This is where things got complicated, but the situation isn't hopeless. I'll explain how I see it from the outside.

1. A revote cannot be held. There was an agreement about this, here on the forum. Captain will undoubtedly be supported by people like Forrest, Volodimer, Aldegir, Keba, Dzhavdet, Roland, some from St. Petersburg, most of the Phoenix players, etc.
And I would vote "FOR" myself if I lived in Ukraine or wanted to go to that city. Moreover, Captain will have strong support, and these are respected people. I don't want to divide the Heroes community for no reason.
Precisely because I invested a lot of effort in organizing and running the club tournament, I am in favor of Kyiv.

2. What is the strength of an organizer? The ability to be unobtrusive and not annoy the players.

3. It's definitely time for the finalists to prepare for the final.
It was immediately decided that the final version would be TE-lite. It is good primarily because it allows both the SoD and TE players to save face. Because TE would cause an explosion of outrage from the SoD players, and vice versa. It's pointless to read the arguments of both sides for the hundredth time; the preference is already ingrained – like the fans of Army and Spartak in football.
We just need to count the 5 leading templates on the forum and announce them. That is, any player only needs to know at least three of them to perform well in the final.

4. Determine the finalists. Definitely determine who will not be there and who will replace them. Write down the candidates from the people who took 4th-5th place in the tournaments and are able to come.

And ask the finalists to vote for the candidates themselves! That is, who do the best players think are worthy of playing with them from those who took 4th-5th place.

This is fair, since the candidates were not able to qualify officially, they were slightly weaker.
Public opinion will be calm, there will be no favoritism or nepotism.

In general, I would do it like this:
Kyiv, TE-lite, 5 templates, all finalists who want to come + the best of those who took 4th-5th place, chosen by the finalists.

People will calmly prepare for the final.
I can also organize a good championship. But not in May, otherwise it will seem like I'm undermining Kyiv. But, for example, in the summer.
I guarantee a strong lineup, and a warm welcome too. Let's say, mid-June.
4-5 rounds of Swiss, poker, bowling, barbecue.