[mosdef]

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He really should be raising a huge range here because the shorties all act immediately after him and the bigger stacks (that have more to lose) are in the blinds. I think you are way ahead of his range and these chips would put you in a great spot for the bubble - if you get called and win, you are in a dominating spot for first with the second biggest stack on your immediate left. I think this is a clear push.

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Unfortunately for hero, what villain would be doing if he was any good may have nothing to do with what he is actually doing. That's part of the reality of $22 tournaments. So with no reads, you really can't put him on any kind of hand range. So while I think that it's a fair assumption to put him on a wide range, I don't think that you can rely on opponents at the $22s to do the smart thing.

If I push, I expect to be called every time. Calling standards at the $22s are extremely loose. I would push and hope that my 9s (which are almost certainly ahead) hold up. It's a tougher spot than it seems, but if you fold you're not really in a good situation.

IMO, this is one example of a common situation that makes the $22s annoying: you often have little fold equity because players make too many bad calls. Meaning that they will make calls that are -EV to them but also reduce your EV compared to the scenario where they make the right call.