The Crusade (autumn, winter 2013-14)

Are playoffs planned after the groups? Or will there always be only groups?

The tournament is double-round and permanent. After the completion of the 1st qualifying stage, a 2nd final stage is held with participants distributed on the principle of: strong against strong. This is the most objective system for the stated goals.
Naturally, the main struggle will be in the 1st, the highest group. So that players in the 2nd and other groups don't get bored, a 3rd stage, 4th, and so on will be held. Thus, every season (except for summer) will feature a Grand Final in the 1st prestigious group and simultaneously a qualification for the next grand final.
Playoffs are an Olympic-style bracket; much in them depends on the draw, a strong player can have an unlucky start, and the weak are eliminated after 1 or 2 losses.
For a serious competition in Heroes, the Olympic style or full double is not very fair. The winner is, of course, identified beyond dispute, but what about the other places? Personally, I am interested in the results of all the heroes players.
If there is interest in the Olympic style, I can run the Crusaders Cup in parallel with the main competition. I ask the participants to express their wishes regarding this idea.

there is a tournament currently running on this template... oh well, whatever

I am aware that the Terra Dei Demoni tournament is underway. Once it is completed, the template of the same name can be included. Until that moment, the template is considered untested, and I cannot allow it; this would cause dissatisfaction among other participants.

Why can't a xl+u template be registered as full random?

A random choice of castles reduces the objectivity of the tournament; it's suitable for fan maps, but not for a serious competition. The more the result depends on the player's actions, the greater the influence of skill. Full random is allowed only on templates where it benefits the game. The participant must present weighty arguments for the benefit of full random. For example, kalababa presented such arguments for M200 templates and their like. With a random choice of castles, the color changes after each subjective restart.

Can the person submitting the template immediately claim the blue color for themselves, or is it mandatory to play as red?

In red rounds, you play on your own templates; in blue rounds, you play on the opponent's templates.

And finally, (assuming a refusal to the previous question), is it possible to submit some xl+u under the rules of the King of the Hill tournament, i.e., with redrush allowed?

I myself am a supporter of allowed redrush on xl+u, but I cannot allow participants to choose rule amendments in addition to the template and time limit; it would be too diverse. What would the tournament table look like?

Today the 5th round of our competition ends!
94 games have been played. Unconfirmed reports:
18.09.2013 darkello (blue, Rampart, Ivor, Ivor/Sandro) def Alessandro (red, Fortress, Vistan, garrison) panic 224
03.09.2013 HellLighT (Red, Rampart, Kyrre) def MuLLlyTa (Blue, Dungeon, Shakti) Jebus cross 115
21.09.2013 Scorpiona (blue, Fortress, Tazar) def Dimast (red, Stronghold, Kreg) 2sm4d(3) 124
19.10.2013 theShevanesian (blue, Fortress, Tazar) def Scorpiona (red, Castle, Valeska, Vidomina) 8xm8a 114
02.11.2013 R55Max (red, Fortress, Vistan) def Captain (blue, Rampart, Ivor) Diamond 133
Please confirm the reports in this thread.
Some participants have many debts. I remind you that if your opponent does not get in touch or is stalling the game, this must be reported to the organizer. I will be assigning mandatory game dates and recording technical results. The group stage will be completed on time, there will be no extensions!