The 3rd stage of the annual John Van Caneghem Tournament (2007).

By key battles, I mean those that will significantly affect the successful completion of the map; such battles were present in every tournament.

What does "significantly affect" or "not significantly affect" mean? For example, in HotA, all battles could be called key battles. Heroes follow their own path, and some tricky units can generate money in a completely different area (these are long battles). Money is very useful for the heroes later on.

As for the suggestions, I just expressed my opinion; whether it's useful or not, I don't care; it's up to the organizers to decide. There is always something to strive for, so "suggestions" will be made after each tournament. This is the only way to achieve something.

Let's talk about what we have ALREADY achieved. Long battles remain, but there are no automatons anymore :) Specifically, the current HotA tournament.