So here's the rundown of a season of SPL (Smogon Premier League)
Managers are chosen. You wouldn't want to be a manager because they can't play in the tournament (and they very important duties, such as making sure every player in the team completes their games on time.) If you want to become a player, all you need to know is that there are 2 to 3 managers per team (previously it was only 2, it was changed in the latest season) and there are 10 teams. The managers are also responsible for drafting players, which I'll get to later.
Player signups. Kinda self-explanatory. You put down your name, time zone, tiers you cannot play (no experience/bad at), and tiers you prefer to play (the ones you're good at). This isn't mandatory, but after this, players usually try to reach out to managers and get their attention, perhaps showing off their skill in certain formats. Typical formats featured in SPL are the OU formats of various generation (for example, in the last season, there were 4 slots for SV OU and 1 slot each for the other generations of OU.)
Player auction hapens. Basically, the managers are given a set amount of credits to draft players. This functions like a typical auction. This is also why reaching out to managers is important; if they know about your skill, it's more likely they're more willing to spend credits to draft you.
And then after that it's the games for the first half of the season.
- Midseason draft. During the fourth week of the tournament, signups will once again open to any players not drafted in the initial auction (but they still signed up). Managers will bid on these players during week 5, and any players that make it into the roster will start playing on week 6. This means that, even if you weren't drafted in the original auction, there is still a chance you'll be picked up during the midseason draft. Sellbacks also occur during this time, which is when a manager "sells" a player due to a lack of involvment or intentional sabotaging and gets credits back.
So the first step is to become really good in at least one of the formats from Gens 1 to 9 OU. If you're not able to demonstrate high amounts of skill, the managers may not draft you since you're more likely to lose games against other teams. With the large amount of players in each format, this is practically a necessity. To apply, there's a signup thread for each season of SPL. This season just ended, and next season's signups should start late December this year. You also need to be active in the team's Discord for the entirety of the season should you get drafted.
(By the way: SPL isn't the only Premier League hosted by Smogon. There's ones for specific formats, like NDPL, National Dex Premier League, and specific languages, like CPL, Chinese Premier League. The language premier leagues also focus on OU formats. Some formats offer FL, or Farm League, which is easier to get into since those who got into PL cannot participate in FL. Examples are NUFL, which my friend RisingManectric is cooking in, and NDFL, which I am definitely going to get into, trust. If you specialize in a non-OU format or an alternate format like National Dex, the Premier and Farm Leagues hosted by other formats may be a better fit for you.)
Edit: Apparently NUFL stands for NU Friend League, but it's still a similar tournament, featuring teams and an auction.
This is the commencement thread for the latest seasons of SPL, Smogon Premier League XVI, and most of my information is referenced from there. You can take a look if you want more information.
Hope this helped!
