Overwatch – Meaning of Stars Under Player Ranks

overwatch

Let me first apologize for not having a corresponding screenshot. Hopefully I can articulate my question well enough without the visual aid.

I am still quite new to Overwatch (PS4) and have noticed certain players, of many different levels, having a Star or Stars under their player ranking. I have seen a large bronze star and two small bronze stars to the left and right sides of the player icon so far.

I have browsed many pages of the Arqade SE but have not found any information yet.

What do these stars signify? Does this have something to do with the "Prestige" system in Overwatch?

Note: I am at work currently and cannot access many sites. But Good Ol' SE is unblocked haha Any assistance is much appreciated!

Best Answer

As a player levels up, their portrait gets more flair every 10 levels.
level 1 level 51 level 91

At level 100, their flair resets but they earn a bronze star. enter image description here

This repeats every 100 levels, so that at level 501 they've earned 5 bronze stars.

At level 601 it resets to a silver background, with 1 silver star at 701 and 5 silver stars at 1201.

At level 1301 it resets with gold backgrounds/stars.

level 1801

Source.

Your level is more or less just an indicator of how much you've played.