Major Counter Strike: Global Offensive events such as the IEM Katowice and the ESL Pro League may still be a little way away but there is some regional action to follow in the Esport in the opening weeks of 2023.

On Tuesday there is yet more action in the Icelandic Esports League - the country's main CS:GO division.

The C-Tier event began in September and is set to run into February. The top four teams in the division at the end of the campaign will secure playoff berths, while the teams that finish between fifth and eighth will qualify for the Challenger Cup.

As for the team which finishes bottom of the Icelandic Esports League, they will be demoted directly to Division One.

Tuesday marks the return of the division for the first time since early December and signals the start of the 12th round of matches. There will be 18 rounds of matches in the regular season of the Icelandic Esports League in total.

Fylkir's struggles set to continue

What: Fylkir v Por, Icelandic Esports League
Where: Iceland
When: Tuesday January 3rd 2023
Odds: Fylkir +333, Por -500

Por still have work to do in season seven of the Icelandic Esports League but they are expected to beat their struggling opponents, Fylkir.

Fylkir Esports are not bottom of the standings - TEN5ION are propping up the table with 10 defeats from 11 matches - but they have nonetheless been poor this season with only two wins to their name.

Perhaps more alarming is their differential of -67 which is the worst in the division and suggests they tend to get rolled over by the league's big guns.

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The low point of their campaign came just before the winter break when they were beaten 16-10 by basement side TEN5ION and they are in desperate need of a confidence boost.

In their two matches before that loss they were hammered 16-2 by BB and 16-7 by AS and they could be in for more misery against Por.

Por do not lead the way in the Icelandic Esports League but they currently occupy a top-four berth and are in line for the playoffs.

They have an 8-3 win-loss record to their name as well as a differential of +21 - only the two teams above them can top that.

Backing Por at -5.5 on the rounds handicap on map one at -120 could be the way to go.

Dusty can start the new year with comfortable win

What: Dusty v Armann, Icelandic Esports League
Where: Iceland
When: Tuesday January 3rd 2023
Odds: Dusty -450, Armann +300

Dusty are arguably the most well-known of the teams plying their trade in the Icelandic Esports League.

While the majority of sides in the division do not even have a ranking, Dusty are at least on the ladder at 180th in the world of CS:GO.

They were in action in the Icelandic qualifiers for the Nordic Masters Spring 2023 - a B-Tier event - in November and will be competing for a spot in the BLAST Spring Showdown when they come to play in that tournament.

For now, though, the focus is very much on the Icelandic Esports League and Dusty cannot have many complaints about how they have been performing this season.

They have won eight of their 11 assignments in the Icelandic Esports League, accumulating 16 points and consequently occupying a top-four spot.

They are on course for the playoffs and have been performing well with a differential of +50 after 11 games - only divisional leaders Atlantic Seafood can better that with +52.

They were forced into a forfeit against Viostoou in their last game before the winter break but were on a three-match winning streak beforehand and it is easy to see why they are expected to get the better of Armann.

Armann concluded 2022 with a 16-7 defeat to BB and sit eighth out of 10 teams going into the league's next batch of matches with only five wins from their 11 matches.

They at least have a positive differential (+9) but they are set to be out of their depth for this one and punters should look at backing Dusty at -4.5 on the rounds handicap on map one at -125.