Shaun & Nath,
I think most of the time something is -EV on the surface but +EV long run it probably means there is some great strength/weakness to your game that you're getting into or avoiding by making that play. Taking the 45% chance to double if you were a great short stack player may not be right, but if you excel at pressuring people, then maybe it is.
Nath,
I don't think the stats you're posting mean much of anything, because you're both freqeuntly playing in tournaments with $20k+ first place prizes.
One extra good run in those easily tips things.
However, if you think they mean something, here's a comparison of you and Rizen.
Look at the Avg. Finish numbers. You're going out in early / early middle almost twice as often as he does.
I can't imagine that means Rizen is taking lots of gambles early, but he has a better ROI.
(And it'd be even better if you only look at his NL Tournies.)
When Rizen makes the money, he final tables 25% of the time.
You do 36% of the time, and have been top 3 almost twice as often as he has.
I think that shows top 3 is not all there is to MTT profitability.
And shockingly, that there's more than one way to win at this game.