How NOT to win a SNG

In a $30 +3 SNG, we were down to four players; three players would make the money.
Everyone had started with 800 chips.
Blinds were 50/100, and I was under the gun with 280 chips.
The big blind was the chip leader with 2,800; the other two players each had more than 1500.

Some people call an 8 with a 6 'Eubie.' The saying goes, if you play 8,6, you be broke.
I was dealt 8,6s in clubs. With the blinds at 50/100, and only 280 in chips, I was desperate.
I went all in.
The button folded.
The small blind folded.
The big blind waited. And waited. And waited. And folded!

Rather than call an additional 180 chips, he opted to fold, giving me life. This may have been one of the worst plays I've ever seen in a sit-and-go tournament, particularly since we were down to 4 players, and he had a comfortable chip lead. At that stage, 180 additional chips were meaningless; also, with 430 chips in the pot, he would be getting more than 2 to 1 odds on his call.

Even if I held seven, deuce off-suit, I would have called in his position. No matter his holding, as we all have experienced, the worst hand can get lucky, hit a flop, and outrun a superior hand.

His error proved fatal. I raked the 430 chip pot, and went on a rush.

On the next hand, I was the big blind, and everyone folded to me (an incredibly weak play; once the blinds are meaningful, and especially once play gets short-handed, never let the short-stack see a free flop from the big blind and never let him win the blind money uncontested). My stack grew to 480.
On the next hand, the button went all-in and I defended from the small blind with AK. A king flopped and I doubled up. My stack was now 960.
On the next hand, I was dealt JJ on the button. Everyone limped, I went all-in, only the chip leader called. My jacks held up against his KQ, and now, my stack was 2120 (doubling up plus the money from the limpers).
On the next hand, I was dealt pocket 9s under-the-gun. The blinds had increased to 75/150; I raised to 450 and everyone folded. My stack was 2345 and I was the chip leader.

I went on to take first place in the tournament.

When you're the big stack, and you get to the end stages, you have to be willing to gamble a little bit. In this scenario, my opponent had already posted the big blind. The small blind had folded, creating a 430 chip pot. It would only cost him 180 chips to call -- about 5 % of his stack.
If he calls and I win, neither of our positions changes much; I am still badly short-stacked and he is still the chip leader by 1,000 chips over his closest opponent.
If he calls and I lose, not only has he locked at least 3rd place (an 'in the money' finish), he is one step closer to winning the tournament.
This isn't even 'gambling' since the scenario is so clear-cut.

The chips leader had nothing to lose by calling. If he had, I am sure he would have knocked me out of the tournament. As it turned out, I owe him a thank you for the $150 first place prize money.