First of all, M can be applied to any tournament you play in regardless of the amount of players.

I think you come in for come in for 800 (the min) to 1000. Will the big stack be more willing to fold to a min. raise or a raise of 1000 ? If the SB calls you are happy to race him here when you are most likely the favorite. If the BB calls be prepared to follow through with a continuation bet. If your flop bet is called, give up the hand. You'll be about the same size as the SB now and have a chance to race your next hand. Now if you think the chip leader going to call your raise the majority of the time no matter what then your best shot is just to move in. If the blinds were at 100/200 and you felt very confident against the chip leader heads up then I would consider waiting.

Either way my reasoning for being fairly aggressive here has to do with the SNG prize structure. When you are down to the final 3 moving up and getting second will only earn you another 10%, but gambling for first could earn you an extra HUGE 30%. THIS is why I change gears late in the tournament with only 3 left. Generally, even if there is a short stacked player. Hope this helps.

Keith